Reimei: Honor and Pride
by Seito
Summary: Sequel to Yoake Mae, Shonen ai hints HPFMA crossover Year 2. Shinka is prowling. Ed and Roy are growing closer. Harry is hearing voices. The DADA is an idiot and a monster lurks beneath the castle. Yup, just another year. R
1. For the Sake of Honor, Back Again or He

Mesa no own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist

Seito: Okay people here is book two! I thank those of you who were patiently, my thanks doesn't extend to those who were annoying me about it. I greatly appreciate those who supported me and gave me courage after I received flames and pointless reviews. (Frankly speaking... this would have been up earlier but I got banned for a week... someone reported my ABC story... so yeah...)

I can't believe the story was so popular. O.O Almost 400 reviews. You guys are truly the best. Random fact: It's almost been one year since I've started Yoake Mae. -sigh- my good bye fic for this school year...

Just some notes (same as before) and a few questions that need to be answered.

**-Take place during Harry'ssecond year (thesecond book) Some of the words and actions are taken directly from the book, please don't sue for that  
**

**-Ed is 16, don't bug me about the age**

**-THERE WILL BE SHONEN AI HINTS! IF YOU'RE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THAT PLEASE LEAVE! I DO NOT WANT FLAMES ABOUT HAVING SHONEN AI. (I'm serious about this people. If you know who I am, you know I write plenty of shonen ai and fluff. I refuse to be flamed by people who ignore this warning. So if you flame me about this, it will ignored and the review/e-mail will be deleted.) **

-PAIRINGS (OR AT LEAST HINTS OF IT) ROY/ED, HARRY/DRACO

**Rose Angel**

-grin- You have a keen eye for detail. Ray will be explained (much) later, though if you look at my other FMA stories, you already have a big hint at who it is.

**Shrew-hanyou**

While I wouldoriginally put it somewhere in the Middle East (Due the regular dryness you see in the anime and the often deserts)but due to the fact that it pretty much needs to be isolated from the world, I would actually place it in somewhere in the middle of Pacific or Atlantic ocean in the northern hemisphere. So it's like imagining thatHawaii is Amestris (plus the countries that surround Amestris) in the middle of the ocean, far away from the rest ofworld and contact with the rest of the world is minimum (which would also explain why in some parts oftechnology, Amestris is far behind from the rest of the world.) Also because it's such a isolated country (which is currently now placed in the middle of nowhere), it's not like the entire world knows about it. That make sense?

**Dedication:** To QianYun and to everyone else who has helped me and lend me a shoulder after I got flamed and spammed by flamers and reviewers. –hugs- thank you.

Now without further ado, I present to you Reimei: Honor and Pride!

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter I**

**For the Sake of Honor; Back Again (or Hell No!)**

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_READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACK_

_READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK_

READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACK

READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK

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"WHAT!"

Peace was shattered once again in headquarters. Riza looked at her watch, right on time. Ed went in to submit his report and not even five minutes later, the yelling match had started. Riza could have sworn the year those two spent away with each other would help **improve** their relationship. Looks like she was wrong and here she was thinking Hogwarts had a good effect on the two of them. 'I wonder if Ray is free for lunch. I need to get out of this building for awhile,' Riza thought to herself.

Nearby, Al let out a sigh. Apparently he was thinking along the same lines. His brother's mission couldn't be **that** bad. Surely Edward was just exaggerating. Then again, it was just another typical day.

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Ed couldn't believe his ears. There was no way that was possible. How was that possible! His ears were deceiving him. It was impossible! There was no way this could be happening! It was a dream! It had to be a dream. Ed pinched himself. Pain… nope, it wasn't a dream. Still this had to be impossible! Out of a million chances there was no way this was happening. Why if you calculated it, you'll discover that the probability of this happening was 1 to 92389759902379043728 chances. **(1)**

Ed looked at Roy. "You're joking, right?" Skepticism and a bit of hope glimmered in his golden eyes.

Roy's eyebrow rose. "Does it look like I am?" he asked. "The letters have been sent. They're right here. You can read them yourself." He pointed the two letters on his desk.

Neither of them noticed that Shinka had slipped into the room. The reddish-brown cat had been looking for something to do while her master was talking to Roy. Shinka took a look at her master, momentarily confused to why her master was gaping like those delicious fish outside in the pond.

"Go back! Are you crazy!" shouted Ed. Shinka jumped. She hadn't heard her master yell like that in a long time. She understood now. The baka librarian was arguing with her master. What did her master see in him? Shinka would probably never understand that one. Shinka's tail swayed back and forth… she would have to bite that man if he kept aggravating her master.

"Do you not want to go?" asked Roy. His confident smirk was in place.

Ed faltered. "No, it's just a surprise," he said quietly. Shinka decided to make her presence known. She meowed loudly.

Ed looked down, surprised to see Shinka. He picked her up. "Hey girl, why are you in here?"

Shinka gave another meow. It sounded a lot like 'I was bored'. If Ed could understand her, he would have sweatdropped.

"So what is your answer, Fullmetal?" asked Roy patiently.

Ed looked at him before smirking. "Do you really have to ask?" he said. Ed looked at Shinka, his smirk growing wider. "So Shinka, what do you think of going back to Hogwarts?"

Shinka could only stare at her master.

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With a few explanations, pulling of strings, some rush packing, and a promise to write and to stay healthy, Ed, Roy and Shinka found themselves in Diagon Alley. They were greeted with familiar, yet strange sights. Life was so different from what they were used to. Even though it had only been a few months, Ed couldn't help but feel like a stranger again to the world of magic.

Nevertheless Ed took a moment to soak up everything around him… until a kid bump into him. "Get out of the way shorty!" the kid yelled at him.

"Who did you call a shorty who's so small that he's barely visible and hard to target!" shouted Ed. The kid just stuck his tongue out at Ed and ran away.

Ed twitched and turned to Roy. "I suddenly remembered why I didn't want to come back here," he said dryly.

Roy's laughter was his only answer.

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Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione were wandering through the streets looking at the shops. Harry was telling Hermione what had happened and why he was in trouble. Needless to say, Hermione spent the next half an hour scolding Harry and Ron for what they did: Ron for attempting something stupid, like using his dad's car to rescue Harry and Harry for going along with the idea. They had just finished stocking up on basic school supplies (ink, parchment, sweets, etc, etc) when Harry bumped into someone.

A very familiar someone…

Someone Harry thought he was never going to see again…

"Ed?"

Golden eyes blinked and stared back. At the same time Harry said Ed, the word "Harry?" was heard as well.

"Ed, why did you stop?" Any other words failed after that.

Harry looked up… "Mr. Mustang?" he asked.

There was a moment of silence as the five of them just stared at each other. From her master's head, Shinka didn't understand what was going on. Humans… they were strange. Shinka almost fell off her perch when all of a sudden questions started flying.

"I thought you weren't coming back?"

"Why are you here?"

"Where have you been?"

"It's so good to see you guys again."

"So what trouble have you gone into?"

"Mr. Mustang are you the librarian again?"

"Are you done with your shopping?"

"Aren't you asking too many questions?"

It was just a massive pile of questions that were being shot off everywhere to everyone. Shinka leapt off her master's head and headed off in a different direction. She knew her master and his crush would be talking to her master's friends for a while. Might as well go explore, perhaps go and pay her own family a visit.

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It took a few minutes to clear up most of the questions. There was just one that had to be cleared up. "I thought you said weren't coming back Ed," said Harry.

Ed grinned sheepishly. "I wasn't expecting to," he answered honestly. "He just told me one day that I had to come back." Ed pointed to Roy who looked annoyed at the answer.

"It's not my fault you travel so much that the only way people can contact you is through me," grumbled Roy. Why was Fullmetal making it sound like he was the reason why he was here?

"You're half of the reason why I'm traveling all over the place. How did you get out of work to come anyways?" questioned Ed.

Roy smirked as he thought about it. It was one of his finer escapes from the military. Of course, when he got back he was looking at doing a lot of paperwork filing to repay the debt… That alone was something he wasn't looking forward to.

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"Major General!"

An eyebrow raise. "What is it?"

"Have you seen Colonel Mustang?"

"Why?"

"We have been looking for him all week. We can't find any trace of him or where he might have gone."

"That's simple. I sent him to go get me some candy."

Sweatdrop

"Was that a joke Major General?"

Glare

"I can't afford to leave my office without you idiots screwing up something. So I sent the Colonel to get me candy."

"But… Major General…"

"What!" The tone of voice grew even colder. It was beginning to promise a world of hurt very soon.

"When will the Colonel be back?"

"A couple months… borderline a year."

"What! Why?"

Bigger glare. "Major Arms… Do I really need to explain myself again?"

Major Arms gulped nervously. He was trending on thin ice right now. Maybe he should just leave now… "Leaving now… ma'am."

"Good." Popped in a jellybean in her mouth before spitting it out. "Yuck," she mumbled under her breath. "Grass. Geeze when it said 'Every Flavor' it meant 'Every Flavor'." She looked at the bag of jellybeans on her desk: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Wherever Roy had gotten these, it sure was a strange place.

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"So have you gotten all your supplies yet?" asked Ed.

"Just need our books. We're going to meet Ron's mother at Flourish and Blotts," said Harry.

"Cool," said Ed. "I need to get my books too." He looked around. "Where did Shinka go?" he mumbled to himself. The reddish-brown cat was nowhere in sight.

"She'll come back on her own," assured Roy. He should know. Ed had him watch Shinka a few time. The first couple times, Roy panicked when he couldn't find the small kitten. He eventually learned that Shinka would come back. A few times he had found the kitten sitting in the Major General's lap as she petted it. A strange sight to see at work, but nevertheless, it saved Roy a lot of trouble of searching for the kitten. Of the Major General did exactly let him live it down, that Roy was panicking over not being able to find a cat.

Suddenly one incident popped into Roy's mind and mentally he groaned. Yes, that one incident of Shinka and Black Hayate. That was a disaster. Somehow the two animals that were supposed to be mortal enemies, got along very well and managed to throw the entire office into chaos. Explaining the mess to his superiors… well… that was a interesting predicament.

Ed looked at Roy. Now what was wrong with him? Roy looked like he had seen a ghost or something along those lines. Ed ignored it as Shinka suddenly appeared again, meowing as if she was never gone. Ed picked her up. "Where did you run off to Shinka?" he asked his kitten.

Shinka just licked his nose. Her master didn't need to know where she went. It was her own business after all.

"We need to go to Flourish and Blotts now," said Hermione as she checked the time on her watch. "We're going to be late!"

Shinka leaped out of Ed's hands and jumped onto her master's head, her perch. Ed let out a sigh. He should really teach his pet some manners. However, it would have to wait. He had to get his books.

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Ed tilted his head. Now there was something strange here. It wasn't often one would see a crowd in front of a bookstore. Let alone a very large crowd. Most of them seem to be middle-aged witches. The banner hanging from the upper windows told them all the reasons.

**GILDEROY LOCKHART**

**Will be signing copies of his autobiography**

**MAGICAL ME**

**Today 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm**

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione said happily. There was a beaming smile on her face.

Ed looked skeptical. "Who is this guy anyways? We have to get seven books by him." He looked over his booklist. There was no way this guy did everything he wrote. No one was a miracle worker.

No sooner had Ed finished that thought to himself, Gilderoy Lockhart in sight. He was seated at a table with pictures of him surrounding him. His pictures were all smiling and winking. The real Lockhart wore a forget-me-not blue robes that matched his eyes. His pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle as the sunlight shone off his golden hair.

Ed sweatdrop. "You have got to be kidding. He looks like a self conceited jerk," he mumbled to himself. He wasn't the only thinking along those lines. Roy was too. Even Shinka. Though Shinka's thoughts were a little more on the violent side. She didn't even have to hear the man's voice to know the man was fraud. People like him support the phrase 'Dumb Blond'. It was also people like him that gave her master a bad name. Shinka's tail flicked back and forth. She wondered if her master would mind if she attacked the idiot blond man in front of her.

Lockhart apparently heard Ed for he looked at Ed's direction. But it wasn't Ed who he was looking at. It was Harry, as in Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, as in another chance to be on the front page with a famous person…

Lockhart jumped to his feet. "Harry Potter?" he asked. He leaped forward and shook Harry's hand. Around him photographers were snapping a thousand pictures of them. Ed coughed as a thick cloud of smoke from the cameras surrounded him. Roy twitched, seriously wishing he could set the photographers on fire. Then again, he had no idea what the smoke was made up of, so he might end up setting the whole store on fire.

Shinka came up with a better idea. She just attacked the photographers. Lockhart paid no attention to the sudden stop of picture taking or the screams and yelps that appeared as Shinka attacked. A word of advice: never mess with the cat, especially Shinka. Ed watched in amusement as his pet attacked. He made no movements to stop her; in fact, Ed was enjoying this.

Meanwhile, Harry was trying desperately to get free from Lockhart's grip. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to stand next to this man. Ron, Roy, and Ginny (Ron's sister. Roy and Ed met her outside) gave Harry looks of sympathy. Harry tried to escape from the man's evil clutches but Lockhart swung his arm around him, making sure Harry didn't escape.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Lockhart said loudly. Everyone began to hush, wanting to hear what the wizard had to say. "This is the perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!" Whispers darted through out the crowd. Now what announcement could it be?

Roy suddenly got a sinking impression. Why did it feel like something **very** bad was about to happen? He didn't become Colonel without trusting his gut instinct. He subconsciously tugged at his white spark gloves. If there was one thing Roy hated, he hated being caught unaware. And he had a feeling he was about to be catch VERY unware.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge –" The crowd applauded and cheered. Some people were wishing to be in Harry's place right now, and Harry would have gladly swap lives with them. "He had _no idea_," continued Lockhart, "that he would be shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Shinka stop in mid-attack as both Roy and Ed just stared. 'Hell no…' they thought. This year at Hogwarts was going to be a long one…

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"YOU IDIOT! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN KISSING TRUCKS FOR FUN! YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ALL OF US! YOU WERE THIS CLOSE TO FLOATING NEXT TO AMIDAMARU HERE!" Horo Horo shouted dramatically as he pinched his fingers together closely to stress his point.

(HoroHoro Shaman King, 'Aniki' By Shiroi Ai)

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**(1)** This is not true caculations. Just mere numbers typed randomly.

Seito: I hoped everyone enjoyed the story. –Smile- Well, this is the start of another long story. Let's enjoy the ride, ne? But hey, don't push me for updates. School starts in like 2 days, I've got enough stress in my life as is. Just wait patiently okay. The chapters are coming.

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Large Pride, Of Garden Gnomes

Mesa no own anything. Just own Shinka

Seito: Wow… over 40 reviews for the first chapter in one month… O.O Wow… You guys are the best. –backs away from some of the reviewers…- You guys are starting to scare me… -hides in the corner- yes you're really starting to scare me. But thanks for all the food! I swear all we're missing is the chips and music and we could throw a party with all the goodies you guys are giving me. XP I love food, especially sweets but bribing won't make me go fast guys.

Oh and yes… **YOU CANNOT STEAL SHINKA!** Leave my poor kitty alone. She's already got to put up with Ed and Roy. –wink-

**Reviews:**

**To Writerauthorguy**

Yeah lives are overrated but that still doesn't change the fact I'm still living one. Why just last week I suffer from a cold, which left me with a temperature of a 103, body aches and pains, cough, sore throat, headache. Now it leaves me with bronchitis, missed two days of school and royal screwed myself because I missed my Japanese speech, lost four days of practice for my audition, missed a project completely lost on what to do, and there I go rambling here again. Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest.

**To Host**

If you remember from Yoake Mae, I put an anime quote at the end of the chapter. I figure I would continue the tradition. It also provides a different mood no? –smile- just a bit of comic relief I guess.

**To Dragon Alchemist**

-blink- Last I checked there was such a thing as a Major General rank. Perhaps you were looking at the different checklist of ranks? Like the Navy instead? –Shrugs-

**To Pryo Falkon**

O.O -Sees the Armstrong Sparkles- -backs very far away- Ummm… thanks?

**To Asaka Kiseragi**

Thanks for the cookies

**To Nonesofar**

-Smile- Slow and steady wins the race. It seems I opened a can of worms when I introduce HP to FMA…. Thanks for the pizza!

**To Shrew-hanyou**

-smile- Glad I could brighten someone's day.

**To Amethyst Bubble**

O.O Whoa… you AND your brother O.O Wow…

**To Shiru23454**

-Stares the Falcon…- -hides in the corner- I'm writing I'm writing!

**To QianYun**

HI!

**Dedication:** To QianYun. Because you're finally starting school and I promised that you would be able to read this the day you came home from that first day of school. –Smile-

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter II**

**Large Pride; Of Garden Gnomes **

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_READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK_

_LET'S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO_

READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK

LET'S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO

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Getting into the bookstore was harder than it looked. The witches went a little crazy with the autographing of Gilderoy Lockhart. What Ron found embarrassing what that his mother was one of those witches fawning over this wizard who appeared to be a idiot at first sight. Even Hermione was standing in line! What did these witches see in this man! Wasn't he just some bimbo who had looks, fame, and fortune… okay never mind the last part! He was a fraud! He had to be!

On the other hand, Harry was lucky enough to get out of the mob of witches. He handed the free books he had gotten from Lockhart over to Ginny. "Here, I'll buy my own set. You can have these." He dropped them into the pile of Ginny's school supplies.

Ed had just finished paying for his set of Lockhart books. He frowned in disgust. The impossible had happened. Ed had found a set of books he did NOT want to read. The world is coming to an end! Ed set his stack of books on the side when he heard a snide remark.

"If isn't boy wonder and the shrimp."

Ed's reaction was standard and normal. "Who are you calling a tiny bug that escapes the wrath of a shoe because he's so small that he fits in the grooves and can't get squashed?"

While Ed drew everyone's attention in the store, Harry looked to see Draco sitting on the side. The remark had come from him. Harry bit his lip. While part of him was glad to see Draco, another part was ready to snap at him for the remark. It didn't really matter what Harry decided though, someone else stepped into the picture.

Lucius Malfoy.

The older Malfoy stood tall and proper, looking every inch like a pure blood wizard and all the pride and ego that came from being one. He strolled over to where Ginny's stuff laid and picked up an old ratty book that looked like someone had stepped on it too many times. At the same time, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley had gotten out of line and were coming back.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley with a hint of disdain in his voice as he saw the senior Malfoy.

"Arthur, " replied Senior Malfoy with equal dryness.

Lucius flipped up the old Transfiguration book that he picked out of Ginny's stuff. "Rubbish." Looking at Mr. Weasley, he coolly said, "I didn't think you were so poor that you have to buy second hand things for your children."

"Why you!" Mrs. Weasley held her husband back as Mr. Weasley nearly flew into a rage. Ginny look like she was about break down in tears from Lucius' remark.

"Arthur! You can't!" shouted Mrs. Weasley.

Lucius smirked to himself and tossed the old book back into the pile of Ginny's stuff. "Come Draco," he called his son. "Let's not waste anymore time around here." Draco nodded and obeyed. He quickly followed his father out of the store.

Ed glared at the back of two Malfoys. Like father, like son. The older was just as nasty and cruel as the young one. Add the senior to Ed's hit list. It was then that Ed noticed that Roy was nowhere to be found. He looked around. Where on earth did the Flame Alchemist disappear to?

Ed pushed through the mob of witches and looked outside. He found Roy sitting down on a bench waiting for everyone to come out. "Before you ask," started Roy, "I wasn't about to push my way inside, so I sat down out here and waited for you to finish. By the way, Shinka left again. I believe she got bored waiting."

Ed stared and resisted the urge to pull his hair. How was it he always had the answers to the questions Ed was always about to ask! Infuriating man!

"Yes, I know you're ready to hit me because you hate the fact that I always seem to know everything," Roy calmly stated as he watch Ed grow more annoyed. A smug smirk worked his way onto his face. Oh, how he loved taunting Ed. It was fun and amusing. Ed was just too easy to read when he was about to ask a question.

Then Fate smiled on Roy as the Weasley family, Hermione, and Harry joined the two of them outside before Ed could do any physical harm to Roy. It was here that Ed and Roy got to properly meet the Weasley family. After quick introductions were given, causal conversation took place. Mr. Weasley was fascinated at the fact that both Roy and Ed were muggles who didn't even LIVE in London. He continued to ask Roy countless questions, some things even Roy didn't understand.

"So do you have cars where you come from?" asked Mr. Weasley. His eyes sparkled with amazement as Roy sweat-dropped and nodded to Mr. Weasley question. Without missing a beat, Mr. Weasley was on another question, interrogating Roy and pumping him for all the answers.

"So where are you and Mr. Mustang staying, Edward," asked Mrs. Weasley kindly. "I'm sure your guardian arranged something nice."

Ed stared at her for a moment. "Guardian?" he asked with a blink. He wasn't aware he had a guardian… He and his brother had been on their own since their mother died.

Mrs. Weasley looked surprised. "Why yes. Mr. Mustang is your guardian isn't he?"

It took a moment to sink in for both Ed and Roy. "Actually he isn't, Mrs. Weasley," said Ed. He found it hard to imagine Roy as his guardian and tried his best to keep a straight face and not burst out laughing. It wasn't working; a silly grin was spreading across his face.

"Oh, well then," said Mrs. Weasley with a confused expression, "Where are the two of you staying?"

Ed looked at Roy who just shrugged. "Well, we haven't thought about that yet."

Mrs. Weasley's expression turned into one of cheerful joy. She loved helping people out even though she knew that her family could not afford to always be so helpful. "Then you must stay with us."

Now it was Ed and Roy's turn to blink.

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It took much protesting, pleading and overall arguing before Ed and Roy lost the war and somehow ended up at the Weasley's house. They had said good-bye to Hermione who left with her parents and found Shinka and the next thing they knew they were at the Weasley's house, via floo powder. Ed was convinced that Ron and Harry somehow tricked him into saying yes and then getting him into the fireplace and saying Burrow. He wasn't sure how, but he knew those two were the reason behind this.

Although, Ed had to admit it was kinda nice in the Weasley's house. It had this warm cozy feeling with dishes washing themselves and a clock on the wall. Strangely it had odd things written on it like 'At work', 'Coming home', 'Mortal peril', including nine hands each labeled with a Weasley name. On the mantelpiece, there were stacks of books. (Ed spotted a few Lockhart ones and twitched). The radio was turned on and playing some female singer's song.

Mrs. Weasley, ushered Ed and Roy upstairs, staying they could squeeze into Ron's room with Harry. By the time they came back down, they found Mrs. Weasley ushering Ron, George and Fred out the door.

"But Mom, we don't wanna de-gnome the garden," protest Fred.

"Too bad. They're getting out of control, so go," said Mrs. Weasley. She pushed Fred and George towards the door. "And if you don't go, you don't get dessert tonight."

"I'll help," offered Harry. "I've never de-gnome a garden before." It would be interesting. After all, the Weasley's house was the first wizard house he's been in. He wanted to see how things were different from the Dursley's.

"It's dull work, Harry," said Ron as his mother pushed him out the door. Mrs. Weasley had already thrown three of her sons outside as Harry followed outside. Out of curiosity, Ed followed as well. Then out of nowhere, something leaped up and tried bite Ed's right hand.

Now see, if Ed's hand had been normal fresh and bone, Ed would be screaming in pain right now. For you see, the gnome had attacked Ed's automail arm. So it was the gnome who was on the ground screaming because it had broke its teeth. Ed stared at the small, leathery looking creature who looked more like a potato then those Santa Clauses gnomes you see in your neighbor's yard. 'So this is what a gnome looks like,' Ed thought. 'It's kind of ugly looking.'

Suddenly the gnome got up and tried to attack Ed again. This time, however, Ed was ready. BAM! One garden gnome, via airmail, thanks to the Fullmetal express.

"Wow. That one flew really far Ed," said Ron.

"But we can beat that!" exclaimed the twins. They found their own gnomes and started launching them in the air. Fred's flew a good twenty feet before his brother's gnome had bumped causing both to land a only twenty five feet away.

"Hah! With a throw like that? Just try!" challenged Ed. He joined the fray of de-gnoming. The air began to fill with gnomes flying in all directions. Roy shook his head. Ed couldn't resist a challenge could he? A grin appeared on his face, though he supposed that's one of the reason why he liked Ed so much. Roy paused his thoughts. Damnit, why couldn't he stopped thinking about Ed?

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The days just seemed to fly by after that. The little bit of summer vacation that was left just zoomed by a like a speeding bullet. Between playing chase on the Weasley's old broomsticks (Ed still hated flying and believed that broomsticks were conspiracy against him.) and de-gnoming the yard again, to eating Mrs. Weasley's home cooked food (Ed and Roy considered it a blessing in disguise) to studying in Ed's case, summer just pass by like a breeze.

Soon September first came. Chaos broke out in the Weasley's house. Everyone was trying to get packed and into the car. (Ed still couldn't believe that rusty old looking car could fly). Harry was stumbling down the stairs, half dressed. Fred and George were swallowing breakfast. Ron was still packing as Roy and Mr. Weasley were trying to pack up the car with all the trunks. Ed, with a little help from alchemy, was repairing the plate he dropped. Shinka was outside chasing the garden gnomes who managed to come back already. Mrs. Weasley was helping Ron look for Scabbers upstairs. And the train was leaving in two hours.

By the time they tried to left, George forgot his Filibuster Fireworks, Fred, his broomstick minutes later. So a quick turn around to grab the things. They almost reached the highway when Ginny realized she forgot her diary. By the time everyone made sure they had everything, Roy was ready to burn something and Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to explode.

Finally, they arrived at King's Cross with fifteen minutes to spare. Everyone clambered out of the car, unloaded their trunks and rushed towards platform nine and three-quarters. Percy disappeared through the barrier first. Followed by Mr. Weasley, Fred and George, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. Ed and Roy stepped through the barrier together.

There before them stood the grand Hogwarts Express. Steam blew from the hot engine, just roaring to get started. Late students rushed to get on board. Parents waved goodbye to their children, wishing them the best of luck at school. "Hurry up, Fullmetal," said Roy as he walked quickly towards the train, pushing his trolley with his and Ed's trunks on it.

"Yeah, I'm coming," said Ed. He ran towards the train. He was going back. Hogwarts was just a train ride away away!

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Yuusuke snarled viciously. "You are SO sleeping in Kurama's room!"

Mission X by Kurome Shiretsu

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Seito: Hope everyone has been enjoying the story. Yup yup, now I'm off to recover from my cold.

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	3. Honor’s Limit, Back to school

Seito: Happy Halloween! -hands out candy-Hope you people are having fun (67 reviews O.o You guys have been busy). Now it seems my mind has been overload with err… leprechauns and other sorts. O.o And I'm well over my cold, thanks everyone for their concerns. (Know I know who reads all the authors notes : P) Yeah… you guys have been busy. Anyways…

**Reviews:**

**To Kazuma-My-Love**

… Thank you for the muffins -smiles before giving them to Guttonly to eat-

**To writerauthorguy**

My apologizes! (You'll understand by the end of the chapter)

**To QianYun**

-Glomps- HI! And happy early birthday (even if it is five days early…)

**To Neo Diji**

-chuckle- welcome and I don't mind the long reviews. In fact I like them actually. So glad that you like them.

**To Amethyst Bubble**

O.O wow… I wouldn't even try that with my brother now… heck I wouldn't even mention to my parents that I'm writing these kinds of stories (They would freak… literally)

**To Miroku-has-darkness**

Yes they know about Ed's limbs. They found out in the last book.

**To Gomababe**

Yeah… I kinda posted the wrong chapter… -baka Seito- I posted the unedited version but the edit version should be posted now. As far as the reason for why Ed keeps going back (well honestly… there isn't a real one for this book, there's actually a logical one for the rest of the books) will be explained soon enough. Yeah…

**To the rest of reviewers**

**THANK YOU!**

**Dedication:** To QianYun Cause her birthday is coming up in few days. –throws confetti- happy (early) birthday!

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter III**

**Honor's Limit; Back to school**

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_fukitonde yuku fukei korugaru you ni mae e_

_kurushi magure demo hyouteki wa mou minogasanai_

Sceneries being blown away seem to whirl in front of me

Even if I get desperate, I won't overlook my target anymore

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After loading their trunks, Roy and Ed climbed aboard the train. Strangely, they had found an empty apartment with ease. Roy had figured they were so late that they wouldn't even find a compartment. He was proven wrong. Suddenly Ed noticed that Harry and Ron weren't behind him. "Where did Harry and Ron go?" he asked.

"Perhaps they went to look for Hermione," suggested Roy.

Shinka, meanwhile, leaped off of Ed's head and curled up on a seat. A catnap would be wonderful right now. It was a long trip back to Hogwarts, might as well sleep for now. There was much prowling to do when she got back to Hogwarts. Shinka smiled to herself, much prowling to do indeed. Especially with that rat… If possible, Shinka frowned to herself, there was something odd about that rat. It didn't feel safe.

Ed nodded. Roy was probably right. They probably just went looking for Hermione. No need to fret over anything. Ed sat down and opened up a book. Anyways, he still needed to finish these goddamn Lockhart books.

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Meanwhile, Harry and Ron got stuck outside the barrier. Somewhere along the way, they got the brilliant idea to take Mr. Weasley's car and fly to Hogwarts. So no, they were not looking for Hermione like Ed thought they were. They were currently flying high up in the sky, looking for the Hogwarts Express. Not very bright today, were they? They would have been better off staying back at King's Cross.

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It was halfway through the train ride when Ed's stomach decided to make itself known. Roy chuckled. "Hungry, Fullmetal?" he teased.

Ed threw him a glare. Roy just chuckled more and tossed him a bag of wizard coins. "Go find the lunch cart and buy yourself something."

Ed's eyebrow rose. "You're paying for my lunch. What's the catch?"

Roy smiled. "Get me something to eat as well."

-Whack!- The coin purse hit the wall where Roy's head formerly was before he tilt it. Roy promptly threw it back. "Now, now, Fullmetal. Anger won't get you anywhere. Unless you want it be a direct order." Roy's smile grew wider.

Ed's reply was storming out and slamming the door, startling poor Shinka. Roy chuckled to himself and flipped the page of his book. Another point for Flame, none for Fullmetal.

-------------------------

Ed trotted down the hall, looking for the lunch cart and the witch that was always pushing it. They were nowhere in sight. Ed grumbled to himself. You could never find the things you're looking for, and when you're not looking for them, they suddenly pop up. He was just about to give up when a compartment door open and someone ran straight into him.

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

Ed looked to see Hermione rubbing her head. She had hit her head when she ran into Ed. "Geeze, Hermione, watch where you're going. You don't just go rushing out of compartments," grumbled Ed. He was already in a bad mood because of Roy. 'What does he think I am, his servant?' he thought to himself. A tiny little voice in his head whispered, 'You would have done it anyways.' Ed blocked the little voice out of his mind.

"Oh Ed," said Hermione. "Sorry! I was looking for Harry and Ron. Are they with you?"

Ed blinked in surprised. Okay… that was new. "No, I thought they were with you."

Hermione shook her head. Mentally, Ed cursed. So where on earth were those two? Suddenly something caught his eye. It was a car. A blue car that looked just like the one Mr. Weasley owned.

However, that wasn't the reason why Edward was now gaping like an idiot. Oh no. It was just that the blue car Ed was staring at was FLYING! Yes, flying, as in floating in the air. It should be no surprise; after all, wizards could fly on brooms. But a flying car is still a flying car. Ed darted into the compartment that Hermione had just come from, startling the people in there. He opened the window and peered out, the wind whipping his hair into his face.

The car had disappeared…

"ED! Are you crazy!" shouted Hermione, pulling Ed back in.

"Trying to kill yourself, shrimp? You'll be doing the world a favor if you are."

Again, Ed's behavior was right on the dot. "Who are you calling a super midget that makes you want to step on him!"

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Back in the compartment, Roy closed his book. Sounds like someone got Fullmetal mad again. The person must have a death wish. 'He is cute when he's mad,' Roy thought to himself. It then dawn on him what he was thinking. As a light, almost undetectable, blush stained his face, Roy quickly tried to push those thoughts out of his mind. He wasn't falling love, right?

-----------------------------

"Actually stepping on you sounds really fun right now," said Draco with a smug smirk. "Hehe, just a couple Mudbloods. No Wonder-boy and Weasel. They must have gotten smart and ditched the couple of nobodies you are."

Hermione gasped as Ed growled. He so wanted to hex the younger boy.

"You're one to talk, Malfoy," growled Ed. "You're just a pathetic nobody. What do you have to do? Hire your own friends?"

Draco bristled at the remark. "You dare mock me," he shot back.

"Yeah, I dare challenge you. You're nothing but a little brat anyways," taunted Ed.

Now if you took a step back and could actually see the two auras of the two boys, you'll discover that both would have been a fiery red from anger. In fact they would be so bright and so big that they would blind you.

By now a small crowd had gathered in the narrow hallway of the train. People were tiptoeing, trying to see what was going on. Everyone who could see what was going on expected wands to be drawn and hexes and spells to start flying.

And the Roy had to go and spoil the fun. "What is going on here?" asked Roy, appearing behind Draco.

No one answered him. Draco glared at Ed and hissed, "You got off lucky this time, mudblood." Then he stormed out of the compartment and pushed past Roy and the other students Ed growled lightly. Annoying, arrogant, prick!

Roy looked at Ed. "What was that about?" he asked.

Ed glared at Draco's retreating back. "Just Malfoy being a jerk." Then he looked at Roy and offhandedly asked, "Cars don't fly in this country right?"

-----------------------

The train came to screeching halt in front of Hogwarts. Steam blew off the hot engine; it was just itching to get back on the track. Students quickly filed off the train and climbed into horse-less carriages that awaited them at the station.

"Hmmm, so this is how the older students get to the castle," said Ed as he and Roy climbed into one carriage, along with Hermione and another Ravenclaw student.

Roy, however, reminded quiet, disturbed by something. Thus, making the short journey to the castle a slow and quiet one. Within no time, Ed found himself seated with the rest of his house waiting for the first years to come out. 'Where are on earth are Harry and Ron,' thought Ed. He still couldn't spot his two friends.

Ed directed his thoughts away as the new first years were ushered in the Great Hall. Right on cue, the Sorting Hat broke out into a song…

"Hello, children, hello!

No need to be afraid me,

I'm just a silly old hat

But you see,

I'm also the Sorting Hat!

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Ed soon found out why Harry and Ron were late. He wasn't the only one. The whole school knew and was in a massive partying uproar, the Gryffindor house especially. As Harry and Ron walked into, a swarm of people surrounded them, cheering them on for that they did. ("That was brilliant! Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for years – " – Lee Jordan.) You know what they say, gossip spreads like wildfire.

Apparently, Harry and Ron couldn't get past the barrier and were stuck back in England at King's Cross. So they had gotten the bright idea of using Mr. Weasley's car to fly and either catch up with the train (Ed wasn't dreaming) or just go straight to Hogwarts instead of sending an owl. Now, as they tried to land in Hogwarts, they rammed the car straight into the Whomping Willow.

The Whomping Willow was an old tree that stood just outside the castle. When they call it a –whomping- willow, they mean it. This tree, literally, has a mind of it's own and will attack anyone who approaches it.

So, Harry and Ron rammed straight into the Whomping Willow. It was a miracle they were alive, and even bigger miracle that they weren't being shipped home tomorrow.

"You've gotten to be joking… That was you guys in the car?" asked a slightly stunned Ed.

Harry looked at Ed, surprised. "You saw us?"

Ed snorted. "Yeah. You guys were flying right next to window for crying out loud. I can't believe no one else did."

"Ehehe," said Ron. "Actually we were spotted by a few Muggles."

Ed's eyebrow rose. "And you're telling me you didn't expelled for this? Lucky bastards."

"Yeah, I guess you say that," said Harry. "Hermione doesn't look too happy."

In the back of the Gryffindor common room, Hermione was glaring at them with a scowl. She wasn't the only one. Ron's brother Percy was also carrying the same scowl.

"You guys better get up stairs before Percy and Hermione tear you two apart," said Ed dryly. Harry and Ron were already one step ahead of him, saying good night to everyone and disappearing upstairs.

Once upstairs, the three of them were grinning like idiots. Suddenly the door burst open and in came a few of the other second year boys. Immediately, they wanted to know everything that happened to Harry and Ron and how they thought of flying the car into the tree, or even thinking of using the car in the first place.

Ed chuckled as he sat on his bed. Shinka leaped into his lap, and he petted her fondly. It looks to be another exciting year at Hogwarts.

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"They amused me, and I like that. I actually enjoyed myself for once."

(-Jackal Getbackers Vol 3)

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Seito: Hehe, I hope you people enjoyed the chapter. If you guys haven't figured it out, I **almost **always post on every holiday so the next guaranteed update will probably be Thanksgiving. What happens in between well –shrugs- we'll see. For the most part those updates are at least once a month (like waiting for new manga to come out) yeah… so be patient please.

So I'm off to get back on the roller coaster ride we called life (and boy was this last one super bumpy –twitches at the memory of what problem that have happen-) and I'll see you guys in a month I guess. –smiles- In the meantime…

**PLEASE REVIEW! -Take some candy too!-**


	4. Hurtful Pride, Someone shoot me, please

Seito: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! (Or just a happy day to those of you who don't celebrate thanksgiving). Hope you guys are getting stuff with turkey. XP

Hmmm… well anyways –scratches head- with those new features the has provided us… I can now just reply to your reviews… so I guess no need to do review response unless you weren't signed in and had an important question… heh, this is one feature I happen to like… I actually reply to more people… ah… and no flooding the Private Messaging box either… Actually they been adding in a lot more features… I'll worry when this starts to become more like a forum instead of a place to read. But thanks for the reviews everyone! 87! Almost to a 100! XP

So enjoy and read.

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_Reimei_

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**Chapter IV  
Hurtful Pride; Someone Shoot Me, Please**

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_ate ni naranai chizu yakute shimaeba ii sa_

_uzumoreta shinjitsu kono tenohira de tsukami torou_

An unreliable map should be burnt

I'll grasp onto the buried truth with my hands

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Ed was a little late to breakfast the next morning. He had overslept and Harry left him asleep for once. Still, late or not, Ed somehow managed to run into Roy.

"Morning, Fullmetal," Roy casually greeted. "You're late."

"You're one to talk," snorted Ed. "You're just as late as I am." He pushed open the Great Hall and BAM!

**"- STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT GONE –"**

Ed covered his ears. "What the hell is that!"

Roy was also covering his ears. "I don't know but it sounds like Mrs. Weasley!"

**"-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED-"**

Ed forced himself into the Great Hall, looking for Mrs. Weasley and wondering why on earth was she yelling so.

Ed stared in awe when he found the source. Surprisingly, it was an envelope that was doing the yelling. A red envelope… Ed made a mental note in his head, do NOT tick off Mrs. Weasley and avoid any and all red envelopes from now on.

**"-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED – YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!"**

Suddenly the envelope burst into a ball of flames. Rounds of laughter spread though the room as Ed watched Ron turn a bright red. 'Poor Ron,' thought Ed with a wry grin.

Next to him Roy's eyebrow rose; he looked at Ed and said, "Remind me to never anger Mrs. Weasley." Edward nodded in agreement. Definitely didn't want one of those envelopes.

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Ed raced towards the greenhouse. Why did he seem to be late today? He quickly caught up with the rest of his class, spotting Professor Sprout just heading towards the class. Maybe he won't be late.

He nearly tripped when he heard that loud and obnoxious voice. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels…"

It was Lockhart. Ed growled. Why on earth was he here? Judging by the scowl on Professor Sprout's face she was thinking the same thing. "Greenhouse three," she said, ushering the kids towards the children. As Ed got closer he saw Lockhart grab Harry and began a conversation with him.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," Ed heard Lockhart say, "I _understand_. Natural to want a bit more once you've had that first taste – and I blame myself for giving you that, because it was bound to go to your head –but see here, young man, you can't start _flying cars_ to try and get yourself noticed. Just calm down, all right? Plenty of time for all that when you're older. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking! 'It's alright for him, he's an internationally famous wizard already!' But when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody! I mean, a few people have heard of you, haven't they? All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

Lockhart smiled at Harry as he looked on to the lightning scar on his forehead. He pat Harry's head and continued, "I know, I know –it's not quite as good as winning _Witch Weekly's_ Most-Charming-Smile Award five times in a row, as I have –but it's a _start_, Harry, it's a _start_."

Edward interrupted Lockhart before he could say anything. "Come Harry, we don't want to be late for class." He pushed Harry into the greenhouse before Lockhart could say anything else.

"Thanks Ed," said Harry once they were safely inside the greenhouse.

"No problem. He's annoying anyways."

"Class we'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"

Ping! Ed and Hermione's hands were the first two up, no surprise there. "Mandrakes, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," said Hermione and Ed in sync. "It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent!" said Professor Sprout, her gloomy mood caused by Lockhart was beginning to disappear. "Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "The Mandrakes form an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," Hermione and Ed said together. They glared at each other, almost mocking, saying, 'hey!-stop-stealing-my-answers!'

Ron and Harry looked at each other. Oh boy… it's going to be a long year with those two.

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Meanwhile, up in the library, Roy was shelving books the old fashion way, by hand. Why? Merely because he was bored out of his mind and it would take longer to do it this way. Granted yes, Riza had given him tons of paper work to do everyday, but he didn't feel like doing it.

He balanced the next set of books in his hands, pushing the cart with the rest of the books just a bit further down. A quiet meow brought him out of his thoughts. Roy looked up.

And there was Shinka…

"Shinka? What are you doing up there?"

Shinka crouched, ready to pounce.

"Shinka! No! Don't!"

-Crash!-

Lying on the ground, book scattered all over the place, Roy glared at Shinka who just sat on his chest with an innocent look on her face. "Shinka…" said Roy in an annoyed tone.

Shinka just licked his nose. Oh yes, it was good to be back at Hogwarts.

----------------------------------

"Alright everyone, grab a pair of earmuffs," said Professor Sprout.

There was a scramble to grab them as no one wanted the pink and fluffy earmuffs. "When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered," said Professor Sprout. "When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right – earmuffs _on_."

Grumbling, Ed snapped his earmuffs on. Sadly, he wasn't fast enough and got stuck with the pink and fluffy ones. Professor Sprout, after snapping on her pink earmuffs, rolled up her sleeves, grasped one of the tufty plants firmly, and pulled hard.

Ed's eyes widened as he stared in shock. Instead of roots, a small, muddy and extremely ugly looking baby popped out from the pot. It had leaves for hair and it had a pale green, mottled skin color and was crying like crazy.

Professor Sprout took a large plant pot, plunged and mandrake into it, buried it under the dirt until you could only see the leaves. Ed had a grim look on his face. Oh boy… this was going to be a long lesson…

---------------------------------------

As usual, Ed's prediction was correct. He was dirty, muddy, and tired. The stupid mandrakes kept kicking and biting and flailing their tiny hands too. More than one of them had quickly given Ed a few bruises and if it wasn't for his automail, he would probably have more.

Everyone rushed back to the castle in hopes for a quick shower before heading to Transfiguration. Ed, of course, enjoyed the class. It was easy turning a beetle into a button. Hermione was breezing through it too (though not as fast as Ed). Harry wasn't having much luck as the beetle kept running away from his wand. Ron was worse. Apparently he had broke his wand during that flying car trick he and Harry pulled off. It was not a pretty sight. Or smell, as thick clouds of smoke engulfed the classroom, making it smell like rotten eggs. Needless to say, Professor McGonagall had to excuse the class early for lunch. She was not happy.

"Why don't you ask for a new one?" said Ed.

Ron grumbled. "And risk another Howler. _'It's your own fault your wand got snapped- _'"

"That red envelope was a Howler?" Ed asked.

"Yeah," said Harry.

'Okay, definitely not telling Winry about those. Last thing I need is that she figure out how to get one and yell at me for not writing to her and Grandma Pinako more often,' thought Ed.

"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon," said Hermione in a chipper voice.

That snapped Ed out of his thoughts. "You've got to be joking. An afternoon with that idiot?"

"He's not an idiot," protested Hermione. Ron grabbed her schedule.

"You got his lessons outlined in hearts!"

Hermione snatched it back and began to blush furiously. Without another word, she disappeared into the Great Hall. Then came the worse experience in Harry's life and one of the most annoying for Ed.

It started out with this boy. His name is Colin Creevey. He was a very small, mousy-haired boy who on Sorting Night was staring at Harry like an owl. To Ed, he looked like a frightened mouse, practically jumping and blushing as soon as Harry looked in his direction.

"I'm- I'm Colin Creevey," he introduced himself. "I'm in Gryffindor, too." In his hands he had a muggle camera. "D'you think –would it be all right if –can I have a picture?" he asked.

Ed stared at the boy. Oh boy… not one those You're-The-Boy-Who-Lived moments. "A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward.  
I know all about you. Everyone's told me about how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead and that if I develop the film with the right potion I can get it move. It's just really, really amazing here. I never knew all about this magic stuff and it's just amazing. I never knew it exist until I got my letter. Boy, was my dad surprised. He's a milkman, you know, so he didn't believe it here, but I'm here! And I can take plenty of pictures to show him. Ummm, so can I take a picture of you so I can send it to him and could you sign it?"

Ed had a headache by the time Colin had finish talking and it was about to get much, much worse.

"_Signed photos_? You're giving out _signed photos_, Potter?"

Ed groaned. Malfoy. Great, wonderful! Just want he need right now.

"Hey! EVERYONE LINE UP!" shouted Malfoy. "HARRY POTTER IS GIVING OUT SIGNED PHOTOS!"

"Put a sock in it, Malfoy," growled Ed. "Or I'll put one in your big fat mouth myself."

"Yeah! You're just jealous," said Colin.

"Jealous? Of what? Having a stupid scar across my forehead which everyone gawks at like idiots every time they see it? I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special," Malfoy taunted. "By the way Potter, better give one to Weasel here. It'll be worth more than his family and house put together!"

Ron grabbed his wand and Ed was ready hex Malfoy himself. They didn't get a chance to do that.

"What's all this, what's all this?" Ed groaned as Lockhart came striding towards them. "Who is giving out signed photos?"

No one had a chance to even explain to Lockhart who suddenly exclaimed, "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!" Lockhart swung his arm around Harry's shoulder, drawing the poor boy closer to him. Looking at Colin, Lockhart then said, "Come on then, Mr. Creevey," said Lockhart. "A double portrait, then the both of us can sign it for you."

As soon as Colin finished taking the picture, the bell rang, notifying them to the start of the afternoon classes. Lockhart, just swept Harry away, a firm grip still locked on Harry's shoulder. Harry meanwhile, was turning a bright red color.

Ed on the other hand rolled his eyes and proceeded to follow. 'Someone shoot me,' thought Ed. This was going to be a long afternoon… and Lockhart's class hadn't even begun to start….

-----------------------------------

"Me," Lockhart said, as he picked up a copy of his book. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's _Most-Charming-Smile Award – but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ at her!"

Ed rolled his eyes and wished he had some aspirin. He could already feel the headache coming on.

Lockhart continued, "I see you've all bought a complete set of my books – well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in –"

Ed twitched and nearly fell out of his chair. While he had finished reading the stupid books…he still couldn't believe this idiot was actually giving out a quiz still! "You have thirty minutes –start- _now_!"

Ed grumbled. Stupid teacher. He read the first questions.

_1)What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?_

_2) What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?_

_3) What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?_

And it went on and on down one side on the back of another, making this quiz a page and half long, ending with the question:

_54) When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday and what would his ideal gift be?_

'This guy is self conceited idiot who doesn't care about anything else but his stupid looks and gloats every moment about his so called accomplishments. I smell a rat and chances are this buffoon hasn't even done half the things he's said,' thought Ed. With a sigh, he began to answer these stupid questions.

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Roy, meanwhile, was shelving books: this time by wand. Bored or not, with Shinka prowling in the library like a lion does in a jungle, it was dangerous to shelve by hand. Roy sighed to himself, he supposed he might as well go get started on those paperwork that Riza gave him.

A sudden and dreadful thought washed over him. 'Okay… definitely not mentioning those Howlers to Riza and Ray…. If they can use one… I'll be getting one everyday from them…' Roy shuddered at the thought. He could already see it now, two red envelopes coming in every single day and him having to open it everyday… and listening to it yell at him… Roy pushed away those thoughts. He was NEVER mentioning those red envelopes to anyone ever again.

-----------------------------------

Back at Lockhart's lesson, Ed was trying not to fall asleep. The so-called 'genius' wizard kept droning on and on about how he mentioned this and that in his books. Ed was tuning out most of Lockhart was saying.

" – It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind!…. blah… blah… blah… blah.. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here."

Ed snorted at that comment. Of course, Lockhart didn't hear him and continued on with his speech. "All I ask is that you remain calm." Lockhart reached for the cover on a cage that rested on his desk.

"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."

He whipped off the cover of the cage and said in a dramatic voice, "Yes! Freshly caught Cornish pixies!"

Ed almost fell out of chair with that comment. Cornish pixies? Those little blue things were harmless. An electric blue color, barely eight inches tall and with pointed faces, high pitched voices that could almost be related fingernails on a chalkboard, Cornish pixies were nothing but annoying troublemakers. Yeah, granted if you let one into a house they'll probably end up destroying everything, but it was nothing a well placed charm couldn't take of.

"Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!" said Lockhart. "And we'll be testing how well you can handle them." He threw open the door and out flew the pixies. One word.

Pandemonium.

As they darted out, the pixies grabbed textbooks and objects, throwing them at people. Several burst through a window, shattering glass through the class. Two grabbed Neville by his ears and lifted him into the air. Some grabbed inkbottles and sprayed the class as others torn books apart and grabbed bags. A few pixies dumped garage and caused students to slip and fall. Neville dangled from an iron chandelier and students darted underneath desks, trying to hide. There was a blue light in the background as Ed created a shield for himself. Minutes later, Harry joined him behind it.

"_Peskipiksi Pesternomi_!"

The spell Lockhart had just shouted had no effect pixies. He gulped and darted underneath a desk himself.

Then a miracle happened.

-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!-

The bell rang. Saved by the bell, literally. Students rushed out. Lockhart meanwhile, stood up, straightened himself out and pointed to Ed, Harry, Ron and Hermione who were almost out the door and so close to freedom.

"Umm, yes, you four. I'll leave the rest to you. Just nip them back into their cage, please." Then without another word, he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Ed grumble, "Idiot. Why do we have to clean up his mess? He's the professor."

"He's just giving us some hands on experience," Hermione protested.

Harry snorted. "He didn't have a clue to what he's doing!"

"Please! You've read his books. Look at all the amazing things he's done," Hermione defended.

"Yeah, all the things he _says_ he's done," retorted Ed. He glared at the pixie that just threw a ball of paper at him. You know what, forget the clean up, someone just shoot him now, cause this day isn't getting any better.

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"It's so cool! Could I be a Shaman King too!"

Hahahaha! Fat chance! You don't just decide to be a Shaman King. What's got into you, Yoh? Why would such things interest a lazy fellow like you?"

"Because! If I were friends with the _'King of Spirit' _… I could do whatever I wanted for the rest of my life! I'd never have to work!"

-Yoh and Yohmei Shaman King vol 2.

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Seito: -gin- so I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. So the next update will probably be around Christmas… or Christmas Eve or the day after… One of those days…

So…

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Whispers of Honor, Bloody Letters

Mesa no own FMA

Merry Christmas everyone! –big smile-

Hehehe so here we go, the next chapter of Reimei on Christmas day, like I promised.

Anyways this is both dedicated to **Yrel-Kohana **for the 100th review and to **QianYun **as part of your Christmas. :P Enjoy

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_Reimei_

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**Chapter V**

**Whispers of Honor; Bloody Letters**

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For the most part, the days seemed to fly by. Before Ed knew it, Halloween was just around the corner again. The days seemed normal enough, but as was expected, there is always something abnormal bound to happen.

For one thing, Colin was still annoying Harry and every time Ed came across the boy, he almost felt like the strangling the younger boy. The boy even showed up at Quidditch practice, questioning Harry everything about it: what were beaters, what are the balls for, who were the players, etc, etc and at the time, it was the crack of dawn. Needless to say, Harry was not happy that Wood woke him up so early and that Colin kept asking all these questions.

Second, Malfoy somehow made it on the Slytherin's team. You had to be blind as a bat, deaf, and just plain stupid to not realize that he had bought his way onto the team. The entire Slytherin team had brand new _Nimbus Two Thousand and One_ models. (This model was even better than Harry's _Nimbus Two Thousand_). Apparently, Malfoy asked his father for them… and bought his way onto the team… (Ed snorted at the thought. The jerk probably didn't even have any real skills.)

What happened after was the major headache. Malfoy insulted Hermione and Ed. (Ed wasn't sure what Mudblood meant, but he did know an insult and he was going to pay Malfoy back with twice the pain.) Ron, in the process of defending Hermione and Ed, ended up cursing himself so now he was hurling slugs. Not a pretty sight. All the while, Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team were getting a good laugh. Ron spent the rest of the day hurling slugs.

Third, Harry was beginning to hear voices. Ed thought the workload and Quidditch plus Lockhart and Colin finally got to the poor boy, but Harry insisted that he kept hearing this low, dangerous voice. The strangest thing about Harry's story was that Harry was once serving detention with Lockhart and Lockhart didn't hear a thing. Ed didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like it. (He hoped Harry didn't have a few screws loose or anything)

But other than those three things, life seem to carry on pretty smoothly. Ed managed to pull off his Halloween prank on his roommates gain. Gave them another heart attack and knocked another year off their life.

-Flashback-

Harry fell out of his bed. His heart was racing, his palms felt sweaty and his glasses were practically falling off his face.

"Damnit, Ed!" cursed Ron. He was on the ground like Harry, nursing his newest head wound.

Ed chuckled. "You screamed the loudest Ron. If I didn't know better, I would say you're scared of spiders." Quite true. When the Weasley woke up, he let a terrified scream the moment he opened his eyes.

Ron turned a brilliant shade of red and didn't say anything. This year, Ed had rigged all their bed with fake spiders so that the first thing you saw was this giant spider sitting on you, its eight eyes staring at you. Then there were smaller ones hanging above you. It was enough to terrify Ed's roommates and wake their neighbors too.

As his roommates glared at him, Ed could do nothing but laugh.

-End of Flashback-

But other than that, the day had actually passed by rather quickly. Night had fallen and most of the students were downstairs celebrating Halloween. Nearly Headless Nick invited Harry, Ron and Hermione to his deathday party so they were there. Meanwhile, Ed and Roy were up in the library having their own little Halloween party. (Though, mainly both Ed and Roy were tired of drinking pumpkin juice and eating pumpkin pie.)

"It's already October," said Ed. "Time flies by fast." In the spirit of Halloween, he was dressed like an elf. Even had his ears bewitched to be slightly pointed.

"Not fast enough…" muttered Roy to himself. He piled up the latest stack of papers that Riza had sent via owl post. The dog ears that he was wearing (Ed made him) looked like they were beginning to droop. What was his first lieutenant trying to do? Drown him in papers? Was this some kind of cruel and unusual punishment for leaving and not doing his work?

Probably…

Ed smirked. He had heard what Roy said. He couldn't help but chuckle at the Flame Alchemist's complaints. It was so nice to see Roy suffer once in while.

-Thud-

Yes, it was very nice to see Roy suffer.

Shinka let out a hiss towards Roy. The human's ridiculously tall paper stack nearly crushed her as it fell. Did her master's crush have to be such an idiot sometimes? What human in their right mind stacks papers that high anyways? Shinka glared at Roy. It might have to do with the fact that the human's desk resembled more of an ocean of papers than a desk.

Ed chuckled and bent down to help Roy pick up the papers. "I swear I'm going to burn these documents soon," mumbled Roy. Ed couldn't help himself… he burst out laughing… Today was definitely a good day.

------------------------

"Ray?"

"Hm? Oh Riza. What brings you here?"

Riza took a seat. "Just here to tell you that the papers you asked to be delivered have been sent."

"Thanks. Knowing Roy, it'll take him the rest of the year to figure out those documents are important and that he'll need to know them. I don't know how he survived without you."

Riza chuckled quietly.

"Well, that solves how to get Ed to England every year from now. So are you free for lunch, Riza-chan?"

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"I heard that Harry's been hearing voices," said Roy.

"He claims to be," said Ed. "But no one else can heard them."

By now they had cleaned the mess of papers on Roy's desk. Somehow the older alchemist manage to con Ed into helping get his paperwork. ("More like begged than ordered."-Ed)

Roy paused in his work. "As long as he isn't suffering from schizophrenia or any other type of mental illness, then he'll be fine." The last thing Roy wanted to hear and deal with wad that Harry turned out to be a little insane.

Ed nodded. "He's probably stressed. Lockhart and that Colin kid is pretty much giving him a headache with their presence alone." He had finished sorting through the papers when his elbow brushed against an old dusty book. The title read, 'Myths and Legends of Hogwarts.'

"What's this?" Ed put down his pen and picked up the book.

"It's a book of legends. I was doing some light reading in it. It's quite interesting," said Roy, not missing a beat as he scribbled down on another piece of paper. This pile of papers was never going to end, was it?

Ed opened the book and began to flip through the pages. He stopped on one of the legends titled: The Chamber of Secret.

Over a thousand years ago, four of the greatest witches and wizards came together to build a school: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built Hogwarts together, far from prying Muggle eyes for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.

_For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor and Slytherin left the school._

_However, it was said before the castle was finished being built, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber, unknown to the other founders. It was called the Chamber of Secrets. Legends say that he sealed the hidden chamber so that none but his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the hidden horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic._

_While no one truly knows what is hidden in the chamber, many are led to believe that it's some sort of creature that only the heir could control it. Others say it is some sort of dark magic or perhaps some kind of secret weapon or tool that will help the heir in his quest. Whatever was locked inside still remains a secret. Many fear what will truly happen should the chamber ever be opened._

Ed closed the book. What a ridiculous legend. Seriously, who would believe that there was some kind of 'hidden horror' in the school? Dumbledore probably wouldn't even take the chance if something was dangerous living in here nor would parents send their children here if any thing really dangerous lived in Hogwarts. Ever if there was some sort of monster, it must have died from hunger from being locked for up over a millennium.

"Find anything interesting?"

Ed looked up. "Nah, just a legend about some sort of chamber of secrets was build somewhere in Hogwarts. They talk about how there's some kind of horrible monster and everything down there can only be controlled by the 'true heir'." It was a silly myth.

"Good." Roy stood up and proceeded to drag Edward out of the library. "Cause we're taking break. It would be pointless to spend Halloween like this." As much as Roy loved spending any type of time with Ed, it was more or less too crude of him to force the younger boy to help with his paperwork all night. So they would pay a visit to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

Ed glared at the older man. "You just don't want to do your work."

Roy's smile wavered a bit. "Nonsense. Why would you think like that?" He wasn't that easy to read, right? He had no hidden motive for dragging Ed away from the library and downstairs. Of course not, what a silly idea to think of. No, he wasn't using Ed as an excuse to walk away from his paperwork. He would never use the younger alchemist in such a lowly way.

Though… getting a snack did mean walking away from a certain paper-covered desk.

Ed's glare increased, but oddly he let the Flame Alchemist drag him towards the kitchen. A midnight snack actually sounded pretty good right about now…

------------------------------

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione were making their way back from Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party. They couldn't stand much of the dreary atmosphere and the ghosts for much longer so they decided to leave. Hopefully, Nick wouldn't find out and if he didn't, they prayed he wouldn't mind them just up and leaving like that.

"…_rip…tear…kill…"_

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. There it was… that cold murderous voice that seem to ring from nowhere. What was it? A phantom? Some sort of restless spirit?

"_..soo hungry… for so long…"_

Harry felt ill. It was moving upwards… how was that possible?

"Hey, Harry? You alright?" asked Ron with a worried expression on his face. Harry was acting strange…

"Shut up and listen. It's that voice again!" Harry said urgently. The voice was beginning to grow softer. He ran down the hall. Where was it going? "This way!" he shouted. Harry darted up the stairs.

"Harry! Where are we going!" asked Hermione. She and Ron ran after Harry. They had no idea where Harry was going.

_"… I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!"_

Harry's stomach lurched. "It's going to kill someone!" he shouted. He ignored bewildered looks that Hermione and Ron gave him. What on earth was Harry talking about?

"Harry! What are you talking about! I couldn't hear a thing!" shouted Ron.

Hermione suddenly gasped and pointed towards a wall. "Look!"

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"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

Ed looked as Roy as they both heard Malfoy suddenly shout those words. They noticed that people were beginning to cram into a corridor at the end of the second level. "What the hell is Malfoy yelling about?" muttered Ed as he attempted to push his way through the crowd of people.

Ed blinked rapidly as he saw what was before him. Painted on the wall in bright red paint were foot tall words.

**THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.**

This was not good… Ed looked at Roy. "Remember that legend I was talking about back upstairs," he blandly asked.

Roy nodded. Of course, they just had that conversation a good five minutes ago. It's not something he would have forgotten right away. What was Ed getting at?

Ed's glaze returned to the wall. "It might be a little truer then I thought…"

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_Yami stopped a foot from them. He glanced down at Kurt's tail and a smirk formed on his lips. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it as he found himself at a loss for words. Giving up on speaking, he tilted his head to get a better look at the blue furry one. It was then he found his voice, "I thought Halloween happened in October? Was I wrongly informed?"_

'The Forth God' By RogueMoon, Ch 3 (X-men Evolution/YGO crossover)

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Okie doki, this chapter is done!

**Next Update:** Those of you praying for New Years, I'm sorry, that's not going to happen. It'll probably be a later holiday in January or just some random day. I can't do New Years though. And yes there WILL be an update in January, I just don't know when.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Painful Pride, Welcome Chaos

Mesa no own FMA and HP

Seito: Okay… I know this is about three months late… and I apologize, between school and my computer dying (which mind you is still dead. I can't connect to the internet) there hasn't been much time on my hands. I even took up kendo, taking up my time even more. So yeah… time is short for me and my beta, so I ask for patient and I thank those who have been waiting patiently.

Ooo and everyone take a cupcake! –hands out cupcaks- it's my birthday. Happy birthday to me :P –waves a tiny flag and throw confetti-

Oh and let's all cheer for QianYun! Gambatte! You'll make it through you senior year.

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter VI**

**Painful Pride; Welcome Chaos**

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_hibite (yonde) iru kimi no koe_

_koko de tachidomaru you na jikan wa nai sa_

_READY STEADY GO_

Your voice is echoing -shouting-

There's no time to be like standing still here

READY STEADY GO

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That Halloween night had turned into the talk of the century. The teachers questioned Harry, Ron, and Hermione as the three of them were the first one to arrive at the scene. Filch was sobbing as his cat, Mrs. Norris, was Petrified. Whispers of secrets darted around the school as several students eyed others with suspicious looks. Suddenly Roy had a double workload to do as hordes of students came to the library demanding that they have all the books that told about the Chamber of Secrets. (Of course it didn't help that Ed had already borrowed over half of them). The whole school was talking about it.

"I bet Malfoy knows something about this chamber of secrets," said Ron. Currently, he, Harry, Ed and Hermione were the only ones in the common room. Ed had his nose buried into a book, half listening to what Ron and Harry were discussing. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't have her nose in a book.

"Just look at his family! They're all Slytherin! He's always boasting about how good his family is. They could definitely be Slytherin's descendants. His father is evil enough!" ranted Ron. The Weasley was convinced that Malfoy was heir. "You hear him shout _'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'_"

"But there's no way to prove that," Ed said, pausing in his reading to add in his two cents.

"If only I had my copy of Hogwarts: A History. All the copies have been checked out in the library and there's a two weeks waiting list! I wish I didn't leave my copy at home but there was no way I could have fit it into my trunk," said Hermione with a sigh.

"Why do you want it?" asked Ed, flipping the page. The book he was reading wasn't providing much new information. "Besides, if you wanted it so badly, why not ask your parents to send it to you through owl post?"

"My parents don't own an owl. They're not even wizards. And I want it for the same reason everyone else wants it: to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets."

Ed tossed a book to Hermione. "Here, knock yourself out. You won't find much in it anyways."

Hermione gaped. "You had a copy all this time? Why didn't you tell me?"

Ed shrugged and picked up another book. "You never asked."

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"I still say Malfoy is the one behind all of this," muttered Ron.

"And I keep telling you that we have no evidence," said Ed. Class had just finished and they were heading down to the Great Hall for lunch.

"Actually… there might be a way to prove it," said Hermione, her voice dropping lower. "Of course, it would be difficult and dangerous… very dangerous. We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect-"

"In other words, it'll probably get us expelled and you will be complaining and blaming us if it ever happens," Ed said bluntly.

Hermione glared at the blond alchemist. "Yes. What we need to do is get inside the Slytherin Common room and talk to Malfoy without him knowing it's us that he's talking to."

The light bulb went –ding- in Ed's head. "Oh no…" he groaned. "You're not thinking…"

Hermione grinned. "Yes, the Polyjuice Potion!"

Ron and Harry looked at each other. Why was it that Ed and Hermione were on the same wavelength when it came to being smart? "What's that?" Harry and Ron chorused together.

"Snape mentioned it in class a few weeks ago-"

"Do you think we have nothing better to do than to listen to Snape in class?" muttered Ron.

"It's a potion that transforms you into somebody else," said Ed. He had a sinking feeling about this. The last time the three of them decided to do something that broke the rules, they ended up with detention in the Forbidden Forest or nearly dying while trying to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone. Plus, knowing how stubborn they were, Ed also knew there was no way of convincing them otherwise. He let out a sigh.

"Think about it. We could change into Slytherins and no one will know it's us. Malfoy is bound to tell us something knowing the way he boasts about everything," said Hermione. There was a hint of excitement in her voice.

"You do realize that it takes a while to make, right? And that the only way to get the recipe is in a book that is in the restricted section of the library?" Ed said, looking at Hermione. He came across the recipe while searching for the Philosopher's Stone last year. It took a month to brew and the ingredients for it was hard to get by or just weird… Ed didn't want to drink a potion with someone's hair or toenails in it. The potion was complicated… and it wasn't something second years should be trying. Then again… when was Ed concerned about age? After all he didn't become a state alchemist at the age of 12 for nothing. He shouldn't be the one reprimanding about age and they shouldn't do.

"That's why you're going to get the book Ed. After all Mr. Mustang lets you into the restricted section," said Hermione.

Ed took a step back and sweatdropped. He didn't like that look in Hermione's eyes…

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Roy, in the meantime, was actually attempting to do his work up in the library. The books were shelved, the students were eating lunch, and Ed was nowhere in sight so he had free time. He also knew full well the Riza would kill him if he didn't finish those papers.

That was when he came across a simple, white full-letter size envelope. It felt heavy and full of papers. Written on it in neat handwriting, it said. 'Read carefully.' Roy tensed. He knew that handwriting very well.

He opened the envelope and began to read. It had to be important if Ray sent it…

Onyx eyes widened. "This…"

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"Here," said Ed. He knew he was going to regret this… not to mention this would get him into trouble with Roy or worse, Roy would get in trouble. He handed the book over to Hermione who opened it up quickly and began to read.

"We need lacewings flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass. Also powdered horn of a bicorn, shredded skin of boomslang and a little bit of whoever we want to change into. We can get the first four ingredients from the student cupboards…but I'm not sure how we're going to get the powdered horn of a bicorn and shredded skin of boomslang."

Ron looked at her as if Hermione had grown another head. "Excuse me? What do you means bits of a person we want to change into? Are you telling me I gotta drink a potion that has Crabbe's toenails in it?" Ron looked like he was going to be sick as Ed grimly nodded. This was the reason why Ed didn't even want to come near this potion.

"I guess this means we have to steal some of this stuff from Snape's private stores," said Harry. He didn't really like that idea in particular. Besides, he knew that Draco would never do something like this. Harry knew that deep down inside Draco had a good heart and what on earth was he thinking! Of course Drac- Malfoy was evil! Just look at his father!

"If you two are going to chicken out now, Ed can take this book back right now. I just thought saving other muggle-born students here came first," snapped Hermione.

Ed, behind her, rolled his eyes and knew that Harry and Ron would instantly agree. He sighed, his friends were really justice orientated weren't they?

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Saturday came and the Quidditch match against Slytherin arrived. Harry was feeling butterflies at the thought of going up against Malfoy. Somehow… it sorta thrilled him. Harry paused for a moment. Why did it thrill him so much? It was just another Quidditch match. Yeah, that right. It's just the feeling of excitement before a game.

He marched onto the field proudly with the rest of the team. They would win against the Slytherin's team.

"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three… two… one…"

The crowd roared as both teams took the air. The Snitch hovered for a few seconds in Harry's view before disappearing from sight. Harry sped off in the direction it took, only to sway and pull back as a bludger nearly hit him.

'That was close,' thought Harry.

"Harry you alright?" asked Fred, flying next to him.

"That was close one," said George. He hit the bludger again, sending it off its course. But something was wrong. Right after George hit it, the bludger changed its course and sped back towards Harry's direction. Harry took off. What the hell is wrong with that bludger?

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"This isn't good," said Ed, looking at the field trying to spot Harry. Rain had started to fall, making it hard for the alchemist to spot his friend on the field.

"What isn't?" asked Ron.

"There's this one bludger that keeps coming after Harry," Ed said calmly. He found Harry again, and watched as he dodged the flying bludger. "I bet the Slytherin's tampered with it or something." He appeared to be calm, but his golden eyes were sharp and flashing.

Another whistle sounded through the rain, calling a time out. Ed frowned. They better do something about that bludger soon. Harry was going to get murdered.

-----------------------------

With much convincing, Harry managed to get Wood to get Fred and George to leave him alone and for him to handle the bludger. Harry wasn't going to lose this match to some crazy bludger.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded again as the teams both took the skies once more. Harry sped off in search of the Snitch. He had no time to waste. Harry zoomed around the field looking for a glimmer of gold.

'There.'

It was hovering next to Malfoy and the pale Slytherin didn't even notice. On top of that, the bludger was heading right towards Malfoy. 'Get to Draco,' Harry willed his broom.

Draco finally noticed that Harry was coming right at him "What the-?" He tried to get away but Harry rammed straight into him, pushing Draco out of the bludger's pathway as Harry grabbed the Snitch while the bludger shattered his other arm. Harry was knocked off his broom.

"Damnit Potter!" shouted Draco. Without giving it a second thought, he dove to catch the falling Harry. Behind him, the bludger sped toward Draco and Harry, keen on hitting its target once more.

The bludger never made it and Draco and Harry fell to ground landing with a thud on a big pile of leaves. The bludger was caught in what appeared to be a giant hand made out of mud and stone.

"You know you gotta stop getting yourself into trouble, Harry."

Through the rain, Harry and Draco looked to see Ed standing there, soaking wet like them. As soon as Harry had started speeding towards Draco, Ed had left his seat and darted down towards the field. Ed saw Harry beginning to fall and transmuted the grass into a big pile of leaves. Then Ed transmuted a hand out of the ground to catch the bludger.

Draco, on the other hand, decided it was a good time to punch Harry for pulling a stupid stunt like that. Not only was he muddy and dirty, Draco now felt extremely sore. It also felt like he pulled his arm out of his socket. Trying to pull Harry upwards while trying to hold on to his broom was a little hard to do mid-air.

-Bam! -

Harry was stunned, the numbness of his arm faded from his mind as he focused on his bruise thanks to Draco. "What was that for?" he snapped.

"For being a stupid idiot! What were you thinking? Are you trying to kill yourself!" shouted Draco. Never in his entire life had he been so scared. Why he was so scared, he didn't know but one thing for sure, Draco **NEVER** wanted to see that happen again.

Harry punched Draco back with his good arm. "You were about to be rammed by the bludger yourself! You should be thanking me!"

Ed blinked. This conversation sounded strangely familiar… Not the exact same words… but the same meaning behind it. Didn't Al say something similar to him once…?

Ed's thoughts were interrupted by a horrible annoying voice.

"Not to worry, Harry. I'm about to fix your arm."

"NO!" shouted Harry and Ed together. After that whole pixie incident they really didn't trust Lockhart with a wand anymore.

"I'll keep it like this, thanks…" said Harry. He heard a familiar clicking noise. "I don't want a photo of this, Colin." That boy was really starting to become annoying.

"He should just go to the hospital wing," said Ed, wanting to snatch the camera away from the younger boy. Really, why was the boy taking pictures now?

Lockhart carefully ignored Ed and Harry's protests. "Stand back," he said as he rolled up his jade-green sleeves.

"No- don't!" said Harry. It was too late. Lockhart waved his wand and pointed it at Harry's arm.

A strange and unpleasant sensation started at Harry's shoulder and spread all the way down to his fingertips. It felt like his arm was being deflated and that wasn't a pleasant feeling. Harry dared not look. It was raining; he was sore and muddy with a broken arm that his incompetent teacher was trying to fix. Colin was bothering him with the clicking of his camera and Harry could feel all eyes on him. Plus, he still owed Draco a punch in the face for the one he just gave Harry.

Suddenly his arm didn't hurt anymore… in fact he couldn't even move it… Harry mentally groaned. He didn't want to know, he didn't want to know.

"Ah," said Lockhart. His tone of voice just confirmed the worse for Harry. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Harry, just toddle up to the hospital wind – ah, Mr. Elric, Mr. Malfoy would you escort him? – and Madam Pomfrey will be able to – er – tidy you up a bit."

Ed and Draco glared at each other for a split second before both glaring at Lockhart and his idiocy. Nevertheless, they both helped Harry up.

Harry finally willed himself to look at his arm. It looked like a thick, flesh-colored rubber glove. He tried to move his fingers. Nothing happened.

Ed stared in disbelief as he watched Harry try to move his arm again. Lockhart hadn't mended Harry's bones. He had removed them.

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_Uhhh... it's not our fault..._

_Ritsuko Akagi (Neon Genesis Evangelion)_

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Once again, Lockhart has done it again. What an idiot.

**Next Update**? Don't hold your breath, my computer is still dead. T-T (I want a new computer…)

**PLEASE REVIEW! **Don't forget to take a cupcake.


	7. A Piece of Honor, Midnight Visit

Mesa no own FMA

I have decided to continue Reimei………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Just joking! –smile- Happy April Fool's!

So enjoy.

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter VII**

**A Piece of Honor; Midnight Visit**

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Madam Pomfrey wasn't pleased by the time they got up there. She was raging, actually. "You should have come straight to me!" she shrieked. In her hands was Harry's limp limb. "I can heal bones in seconds, growing them back- "

"Is something you can do right?" asked Harry with a hint of panic in his voice.

Madam Pomfrey looked at him, looking almost insulted by the remark. "I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful," she said flatly. She handed Harry a pair of pajamas. "You'll have to stay the night…"

Then, before anyone else could say a word to Harry, Madam Pomfrey ushered Ed, Draco, Ron and Hermione out of the hospital wing, saying that Harry needed his rest and that they could come and visit in the morning. Then she turned to give Harry his medicine. Skele-Gro, read the bottle. Harry paled. He didn't like the sound of that.

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Night had fallen… and Harry was having a hard time sleeping. His arm felt like it was on fire or being stabbed by large splinters… either way it was painful. There was also someone poking his cheek.

"So you finally woke up from what ever nightmare you were having …? Or was that merely you tossing and turning due the Skele-Gro?"

Harry grabbed his glasses and looked at the source of the voice. Ed was sitting next to his bed, poking the younger boy's cheek. "Ed?" asked Harry. "What are you doing here?"

The blond alchemist shrugged. "Roy had me helping him do paperwork. I thought I'd come and visit you before I head up to the tower for some rest."

Harry blinked. He didn't know Ed was helping Mr. Mustang… wait a minute… what paperwork did Mr. Mustang have? He was a librarian, not a teacher. And when did Ed address him by his first name? Harry's head was spinning and he decided not to think about it… it was making his head hurt more.

"Thanks, Ed," said Harry.

They were interrupted with a small –pop- and there stood on Harry's stomach a little creature with large bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. It was dressed in a tattered old pillowcase and had bruises about its body. It was a creature that Harry knew a little TOO well. "Dobby!" he said.

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In the Slytherin's dormitories, a certain blond Slytherin was having trouble sleeping. As usual it involved Potter and Draco couldn't help but curse the other boy. It seems after every incident he met with Potter whether it be for a (un)friendly fight or just simple taunting in the classroom, Draco would go for hours without sleep, seeing bright emerald eyes in his dream. So yes… Draco was cursing Harry for causing his insomnia. It was that boy's entire fault.

Why the hell was he letting it bother him so much anyways!

---------------------------

Ed stared at the strange creature that stood on Harry's stomach. He believed that Harry called it Dobby… Why such a creature was here… or how it got in here for that matter, Ed didn't know… and he had a feeling that he didn't want to know either.

Suddenly Dobby started to ramble, ignoring the fact that Ed was standing next to him. "Harry Potter came back to school. Dobby warned and warned Harry Potter. Ah sir, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Harry Potter go back home when he missed the train?"

Harry's emerald eyes widened. "You're the one who stopped the barrier from letting us through!"

"Indeed yes, sir," said Dobby. "Dobby hid and watched for Harry Potter and sealed the gateway and Dobby had to iron his hands afterwards" –he showed Harry and Ed ten long, bandaged fingers – "but Dobby didn't care, sir, for he thought Harry Potter was safe, and never did Dobby dream that Harry Potter would get to school another way!"

Ed picked up Dobby by the collar of the pillowcase outfit. "Who are you and what do you want with Harry?" Ed asked.

"I am Dobby, sir. And Harry Potter must go home! If only Harry Potter knew! If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, us dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elves were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir. But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's powers was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end, sir…And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more- "

Ed grabbed Dobby his shoulders. "What do you know about the Chamber of Secrets," he demanded. "And what do you mean it's been open once more?"

Harry jumped into the conversation as well. "I'm not Muggle-born ("I might be."- Ed) how can I be in danger from the Chamber?"

"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby," stammered the elf. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter must not be here when they happen – go home, Harry Potter, go home. Harry Potter must not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous-"

"I'm not leaving my friends in danger," Harry snapped.

"Harry Potter is so brave. Risking his own life for friends!" moaned Dobby. "So noble! So valiant! But Harry Potter must not –"

The sudden sounds of footsteps alerted both Dobby and Ed. "Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified. There was a loud crack as Dobby disappeared. Ed dove under Harry's bed, praying he wouldn't be spotted. Harry lied back in the hospital bed and pretended to be asleep.

Moments later, Dumbledore appeared wearing a long wooly dressing gown and a nightcap. He was carrying something. Right behind him was Professor McGonagall in her own nightgown and robe, carrying the other end. They heaved whatever they were carrying onto an empty bed and Professor McGonagall disappeared, probably to fetch Madam Pomfrey.

Seconds later Madam Pomfrey appeared as well. "What happened?" gasped Madam Pomfrey. Harry cracked one his eyes open to see what was happening as Ed watched closely from under the bed. It was Colin Creevey. The poor boy, no matter how annoying he was, was as stiff as a statue, just like Mrs. Norris.

"Another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said Professor McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

Ed's stomach lurched. If he had gone straight up to the tower instead of visiting Harry…

"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

Professor McGonagall nodded. Dumbledore reached and grabbed Colin's camera from his rigid grip. "You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" asked Professor McGonagall.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera. There was a loud hissing noise… like the sound of something melting. The scent of acid stung Ed's nose. That camera was done for. Even he wouldn't be able to repair that… well not with the evidence still intact.

"Melted… all melted," mumbled Madam Pomfrey.

"What does this _mean_, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked. Her tone of voice was urgent and worried. These attacks… why were they happening? It couldn't be that the Chamber was open, right?

Dumbledore confirmed her worse fears. "It means… that the Chamber of Secrets has indeed opened once more."

Ed's breath caught, while he heard Harry let out a small gasp. So the next mystery to tackle was to find out what happened the last time the chamber was open.

"But, Albus… surely… _who_?" stammered Professor McGonagall.

For once, Dumbledore's eyes lacked their comforting twinkle. "The question is not _who_, the question is _how_…"

Ed was lost for words and he was pretty sure that Harry didn't understand any of this any better than he did. Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

-------------------------

Roy read through the documents once more. He kept reading them, but he didn't want to believe them. He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. This was giving him a major headache.

The sound of crashing and loud thuds of books falling caused Roy to twitch and his headache to double. He looked up in time to see Shinka bump into another stack of books and papers. Of course, the very adorable kitten paid no attention to this, too focused on the piece of yarn that Roy bewitched for her so that she wouldn't get into trouble.

Roy sighed again. Another mess to clean up. Fullmetal really needed to take his kitten with him when he left.

--------------------------

Downstairs, pure exhaustion finally claimed sleep over Draco… His mind still tumbled about with endless questions. Why on earth did Potter push him out of the way like that? He could have always let the bludger hit him and then grab the Snitch. Why save him? They were rivals… mortal enemies practically. For what reason did Potter do what he did?

And why did those lovely emerald eyes haunt his dreams?

Such endless thoughts spiraled into nothingness as a dreamless sleep finally rocked Draco to sleep.

-----------------------------------

Word of the attack had spread throughout the entire school by the end of breakfast. Students whispered and told rumors, each version getting a little crazier. The curiosity of what the Chamber of Secrets was grew in every student. False accusations were thrown in every direction.

Hermione was working frantically on the Polyjuice Potion. She was convinced that Malfoy knew about the Chamber. Ed, on the other hand, declined in joining them for drinking the potion. He really didn't want to change his appearance.

Currently though, Ed was in the library as usual, doing something he wasn't normally able to do. To start, a miracle had happened and Roy was actually doing his paperwork for once. The strange part was that he was so focus on his work that Roy had no idea that in the past hour Ed had: poked him, drew a circle on his cheek, made devil horns and placed it on his head, and took pictures of all it. Shinka on the other hand caused twice the damage: knocking over two stacks of papers, three stacks of books, and torn a hole in Roy's coat, all while she chased that piece of yarn.

Finally Roy snapped. "Ed," he said, twitching. "Stop. Now."

Ed grinned. "About time you paid attention to me. What the hell are you working on that me drawing circles on you didn't even get you to look up?"

Roy grabbed a napkin and attempted to wipe away the ink from his cheek. "Nothing special. Just trying to get this work done."

Ed's eyebrow rose. "Since when were you so focused on paperwork? You ALWAYS slack off."

Similar words rang in Roy's head. Why did everyone accuse him of that? It wasn't like tru—okay it was true. But still did everyone have to accuse him of being lazy? A little voice in his head whispered yes.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as he felt a sharp pain. Roy twitched when he realize that Ed pinching his cheeks. "Fullmetal!"

----------------------------

Ed stopped in front of the notice board. One notice caught his attention.

**DUELING CLUB!**

**First Meeting Tonight! **

**Fourth Floor**

**Classroom at the end of the Hall**

**All Students Welcome!**

Ed read the notice. Interesting… A dueling club… That might be fun. He could probably learn some new spells and how wizards actually duel. Mentally, he made a note to check it out. As long as Lockhart wasn't teaching the class, he'll stick around to see what happens in the class.

-----------------------------

"I wonder who will be teaching us," asked Hermione. She, Harry, Ron and Ed were gathered in the classroom with other students for the Dueling Club meeting.

"As long as it isn't," Ed was interrupted as his worst nightmare walked inside of the classroom. Lockhart… Ed resisted the urge to hit his head. Why Lockhart? Why! Right behind Lockhart was Snape. Ouch to the double power. Behind Snape was… Roy? What was he doing here!

Ed rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache starting. He really didn't want to know why the two teachers he hated and the person he was in lov- his **superior** was doing here… teaching a club like this. Yes… he didn't want to know.

"Gather around, gather around! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!" said Lockhart with his smile flashing.

Ed sorely wished that he had a pair of sunglasses. On second thought… why on earth was he still standing in the classroom? The look on half of the girls were sickening enough.

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions – for full details, see my published work," continued Lockhart.

Many of the girls were starting to swoon over his words as soon as Lockhart started to speak again. 'Girls,' Ed thought darkly before rolling his eyes. What on earth did they see in this cheap fraud anyways?

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape and Mr. Mustang. These two have graciously agreed to help me. But do not worry! You'll still have your Potions Master and Librarian when I'm through with them!" said Lockhart. Behind him Snape glared at the somewhat worthless Defense Against Dark Arts professor while Roy just twitched. It wasn't like the two has agreed to doing this. Lockhart had just grabbed them. Snape might have just made a temporary ally in killing Lockhart.

Roy subconsciously tugged on his spark gloves just itching to burn the annoying man into ashes. While he was sure Ed would somewhat enjoy the fire show, half the students wouldn't appreciate their professor being burned to death in front of their eyes… Plus those fan girls of his were scary. That was one place he dare no tread upon… yet.

"Mr. Mustang!" said Lockhart cheerfully. "You first!"

Roy was whisked onto the dueling platform. While he knew how to duel, wizarding dueling is a little different, using magic and all and Roy really didn't have the time to go brush up on the proper etiquette of it. It would seem that Lockhart had forgotten (or didn't know) that Roy did not have a wizard upbringing, much less have attended a real wizarding school when younger.

So honestly… what was there to expect to happen after Lockhart bowed and raise his wand?

-**BOOM!**-

Roy blinked for a brief second before realizing that out of pure instinct he had used his spark glove and fire alchemy. His nose crinkled as he recognized the smell of burnt flesh. Apparently in his mind, he held back for it smelt nothing like the bodies he had burnt to crisp—bad thoughts bad thoughts. This was not the time to be dwelling on the past… Anyways that idiot was probably going to have to visit the hospital wing.

One Point for Flame, Zip for Lockhart.

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"Will you please shut that hole under your nose?"

(Detective Conan, Kogorou Mouri)

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-wakes everyone with a foghorn- For those of you are sleeping. :P

Anyways, check my bio for the next update. Happy April Fools! –grin-

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. A Blow to the Pride, The Language of Sna

Mesa no own anything but Shinka

Whee! Happy Easter!

Seika: -whacks Seito- Ignore her… She's celebrating Easter a week late this year since she was at an anime convention last week. Just ignore her ramblings.

So cruel Seika-chan! T-T What a cruel muse I have. -locks Seika in a room full of turtles-

-ignoring the screaming in the background- Well minna-san thank you for waiting patiently for this chapter! And in my rush to post the chapter last time, I forgot to do my little advertisement.

My friend and I created an lj community: For Your Inspiration.

-grin- If you're a writer looking for 100 themes, quotes, tips this is the place to go. It's still small, and I must admit I haven't be able to post lately. Still go and visit it! The link is in my profile. The community was created to help writers/artist with inspiration (or at least that is the goal). So come and visit it, or join. –smile- Thanks!

Now, without further ado, I present Reimei!

------------------------

_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter VIII**

**A Blow to the Pride; The Language of Snakes**

--------------

The rest of the evening with the dueling club just continued to spiral downward. Lockhart, miraculously, did not die… in fact he didn't even have to go to the hospital wing. He was just nicely burnt to a crisp. Though, it was amusing to watch Lockhart worry frantically over his skin and how he'll never look the same and would never be as handsome as he was before.

Still, it felt like an eternity to Ed before Lockhart dismissed them for the night. He didn't care what anyone said to him, he would never attend another lesson of the Dueling Club so long as Lockhart was teaching the class. Just this one lesson was causing him to twitch uncontrollably. Ed really HATED that man. Lockhart was beyond annoying.

"So you're serious about never going back?" asked Ron.

Ed nodded and jumped up over one of the trick steps. "I didn't learn anything from this except that Lockhart is a bigger fool then I originally thought."

Hermione gasped as Ron and Harry silently nodded in the background. The four of them were currently heading back up to the dorms after Lockhart had let them go. "It was amusing to see Lockhart get burnt like that by Mr. Mustang," snickered Ron. The scene kept playing over and over in the red head's mind.

Hermione snorted. "Please. You know Mr. Mustang wasn't even using magic. That was alchemy, right, Ed?" She looked over at the small alchemist.

Ed didn't answer. He didn't have a chance to.

"FULLMETAL!"

Ed paused and cringed. There was only one person in the entire school who called him that and judging from the tone of voice, it wasn't a good thing. Slowly, Ed turned around and let out a small "meep" as Roy climbed up the staircase.

Without a word, Roy shoved a ball of reddish-brownish fur into Ed's arms. Ed blinked, realizing it was Shinka. Shinka on the other hand, hissed loudly at Roy, clearly annoyed by the older man. The nerve of that man! She wasn't some piece of trash that he could just throw around! Shinka hissed even louder. The fool was going to pay for this one day.

Roy was perhaps even more furious than Shinka. In a low and rather dangerous tone of voice, he said, "She practically destroyed the entire library tonight and you, Fullmetal will be coming in first thing tomorrow morning to repair all the damages that she has done."

Ed gulped. "Y-yes sir." Roy was definitely another person when he was angry. What on earth did Shinka do to the library while they were at the dueling club?

-----------------------------------

Apparently, a lot of damage…

Ed blinked in shock as he looked at library. Roy was not kidding when he said that Shinka practically destroyed the library. Papers were scattered about; some he recognized as Roy's paperwork from Hawkeye mixed in with Hogwarts' sign in/sign out sheets. A good couple dozen of them were torn in half. There were also ink paw prints and pool of dried black ink that had dripped down from the desk. The desk was black from the broken ink bottle and what little papers were still on it was covered with paw prints. Quills and other miscellaneous things were scattered all over the desk and floor of the surrounding area. And the library shelves… Ed didn't know how Shinka did it, but somehow she managed to knock over three shelves of books. The books were tossed all over the floor, the shelves themselves were broken, the wood snapped from the fall. Ed cringed to see that a few books had paw prints on them as well and wondered if he had to pay for new ones. Even the shelving cart was toppled over. In short, everything was a mess.

Shinka was never being left alone again.

-----------------------------------

Meanwhile, outside, Harry was taking a stroll. The air had a nice chill in it. Red and golden leaves fell from the trees, giving out a crunching sound as Harry walked over them. Hogwarts was covered in a cloak of red, orange, and yellow. Vines that usually snaked up the wall were starting to turn brown. The once green grass was already looking dry. Autumn was truly a beautiful season and in a few weeks, winter would be here bringing in a blanket of white snow. Hogwarts was a serene scene in every season.

In the distance, he spotted Hagrid walking about. Harry quickly jogged towards his giant friend. "Hey Hagrid!" called out Harry. The giant man turned around and waved to Harry.

"'ello Harry," Hagrid called out. "You haven't seen a 'ittle snake around have ya? There's a little Red Striped Ribbon Snake running around. It's a harmless bugger, but I still need to find it." He looked around the grass.

Harry shook his head. He hadn't seen any snake today. "Nope. Sorry, Hagrid."

The giant man just waved his hand. "Nah, it's okay. The little bugger will show up eventually… I just hope none of the students get scared of it."

Harry smiled. "You'll find it, Hagrid." However the gamekeeper had already made his way a few feet further searching through the leaves for the snake. Harry's smile grew wider. Hagrid was always doing something unique.

-----------------

-Thud!-

With that, Ed wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a sigh of relief. He was finally done with all the repairs. Shinka had really made a terrible mess. It had taken Roy and him all morning to repair all the damages his little fireball kitten had gotten into. All the books were finally back on the shelves; all the shelves were fixed and lined in straight rows. Most of the ink spills had been removed from the carpet. There were a few stains that no matter how much magic or scrubbing they tried, remained there stubbornly, almost taunting Edward about the mess. Fortunately, all the stains that were on the books came out with ease.

Roy was sitting at his newly cleaned desk with a scowl on his face. He was trying to salvage what little remained of his paper work. Riza wasn't going to be happy and somehow he knew she wasn't going to believe him if he said Shinka destroyed them all. Luckily, the more important documents were safe from harm. Shinka was no kitten… she was a destroyer of paperwork.

Ed collapsed into the seat near the window. He was dead tired. They had only been at the dueling club for a mere hour or two. How was it possible that Shinka destroyed the entire library in that short of a time frame?

Peering out the window, Ed caught a glimpse of a red and yellow scarf and unruly black hair. It was probably Harry. …. Was that a snake wrapped around his arm! Ed leapt up and darted out of the room, yelling a quick "see ya Roy" before disappearing completely down the stairs.

Roy's eyebrow rose. What on earth was Fullmetal up to now?

-----------------------------

Harry had walked around Hogwarts a few more times, enjoying the scene around. He was just about to take a step when suddenly a voice rang out towards him.

"Watch where you are ssstepping, human."

Startled, Harry jumped back and looked around. "Down here," the voice hissed at him. Harry crouched down towards the ground. Almost blending into the red leaves, there was a small snake hidden among them. It was black with two white strips on the side with a red stripe straight down the middle. Harry immediately recognized the species of the snake; it was the Red Striped Ribbon Snake that Hagrid was searching for earlier.

"You're the Red Striped Ribbon Snake!"

The snake glared up towards him. "No, the ssstripess are jussst for ssshow."

"Hehe, I'm Harry." Harry didn't know what else to say. After all, he did almost step on the poor little guy. Who would have thought that he would be spending his afternoon talking to a snake? It never did cross Harry's mind that his ability to talk to snakes was anything peculiar. It was just this little gift that he had and could do. There was nothing strange about it to him.

The conversation continued. You have the most interesting conversation with snakes, as Harry found out. The snake's name was Hebi and apparently Hagrid had brought him to Hogwarts for the next Care of Magical Creatures lesson for the older students. Evidently Professor Kettleburn had asked Hagrid to fetch Hebi from Magical Menagerie from Diagon Alley. Eventually, Harry allowed the snake to slither up around his arm. The two of them wander around Hogwarts, continuing their conversation.

It was close to lunch when Harry heard another voice calling out to him.

"Harry! Hey! Wait up!"

Harry stopped and turned around. Around the corner, flying towards him was Edward. The trademark braid danced in the wind as it looked like Ed had been trying to catch up with him for quite sometime. Also… were that ink stains all over Ed's clothes? "Hey, Ed," said Harry.

Ed stopped right in front of him and bent over to catch his breath. There was more stairs between the library and outside then he had originally thought. After finally catching his breath, Ed pointed to the snake and asked, "Is that a snake around your arm?"

Hebi left out a hiss. "I have a name, human. Isss it too much to asssk to be called by it?"

Ed, of course, didn't understand what Hebi was saying. Harry on the other hand did. "His name is Hebi and he would rather you call him by his name," Harry told Ed.

"Right. Hebi, got i- wait a minute… what did you say?" Ed looked up towards Harry.

"I said that Hebi said that he would rather have you call him by his name instead of being called 'the snake'," Harry explained. Was there something strange about what he said?

Ed quickly grabbed Harry by the shoulders and shook him. A tone of urgency fled into Ed's voice. "Harry, are you able to talk to snakes! Have you told anyone?"

"Ed-d-d c-can y-you s-s-stop s-shaking m-me," asked Harry. Hebi on the other hand, fell to the ground and slithered to a safer distance. Humans were very… odd. Ed quickly stopped shaking Harry. After regaining his balance, Harry answered Ed's question. "Err, yeah, I guess, but this was only my second time doing it. The first time I talked to a snake was a boa constrictor at the zoo. It told me that he had never seen Brazil and then it kind of slithered away after I sort set it loose on my cousin. Why?"

Ed paled greatly. "A boa constrictor told you it's never seen Brazil?"

Harry stared at Ed. "What's so bad about it? I'm sure plenty of wizards can talk to snakes."

Ed shook his head. "No, they can't. It's a special ability. Harry, you're a –"

"Parselmouth!"

Ed and Harry whipped their head around to see Draco standing there in complete shock. Before they could move to stop him, Draco disappeared completely. Ed looked at Harry and said, "Shit."

---------------------

Three hours later, the school was in an uproar. Suddenly, all the rumors were directed towards Harry. Poor Harry was completely overwhelmed by this. Edward was bombarded with question after question being the only other witness besides Malfoy. Everywhere Harry went, people suddenly seemed to retreat away. Whispers darted behind his back and people jumped whenever Harry decided to speak to them.

Harry slumped down into a chair in a half pitied attempt to sink into it and hope that no one saw him. This was the worst day of his life. Ed looked at him sympathetically with no words to offer. Hermione and Ron had quickly joined them as soon as the news had reached them.

"I can't believe everyone thinks I'm the Slytherin Heir," Harry mumbled to himself.

"Well, the symbol of the Slytherin house is the serpent and being a Parselmouth does mean you can talk to snakes, so everyone thinks you're Salazar Slytherin's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandson or something," said Ron.

Harry slumped down further into his chair. If there was ever a time he wished to be invisible, now was it. "If it makes you feel better, we believe in you," said Hermione.

Harry's spirits did brighten a little. It was nice to have friends. Still, it was depressing to think about what everyone else in the school thought about him. Not to mention Draco… Harry strayed away from that train of thought.

Suddenly, Harry stood up and started to walk off by himself. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Harry interrupted her. "I need some time to be by myself."

-----------------------

Countless thoughts ran through Draco's head. He couldn't believe it. Harry Potter… was a Parselmouth. It was trait that only someone of Slytherin's blood could have. So that meant that Potter was also a Slytherin? A part of Draco thrived and leaped for joy at the prospered thoughts. Another part held a bit of envy and anger. Why on earth was Potter chosen to be the heir of Slytherin? Draco was almost positive that the old legend was true and that Potter had the ability to unleash the monster. (Thus another part of him worried that he might be the next victim, despite what the legend said).

Muttering under his breath, Draco wonder, why was it that every problem he seemed to encounter involved that green eyed boy?

-----------------------

Harry had found himself wandering around Hogwarts again before he unexpectedly ran into Hagrid again. Somehow, talking to his giant friend allowed Harry to relax and stop worrying about what everyone was saying. Hebi apparently, returned back to Hagrid and was sleeping back in Hagrid's hut. Hagrid then moved onto his next problem, dead roosters. Harry found it a little weird that Hagrid was carrying around a couple of dead roosters but didn't say anything. It was just the kind of person that Hagrid was. It made him unique.

The night had come all too quickly and Hagrid shooed Harry back to the castle before he got into trouble. Harry waved goodbye and headed back, knowing full well Hagrid was right.

-Howl-

An icy wind sprinted through the long winding hallways. The torches that lit the pathways flickered; many fading away into nothingness. Harry was halfway up the stairs before he tripped over something… or rather, someone.

Harry's stomach gave a lurch and feeling of horror raked at his heart. Justin Finch-Fletchley, a boy he had met from the Dueling Club, laid on the ground frozen. His face had a shocked expression; his body was rigid and cold. Justin wasn't the only one… Nearly Headless Nick was there as well. Instead of the usual transparent colors, Nick laid floating a good six inches off the ground, a black and smoky color. Like Justin, he had a frozen, shocked expression.

Harry nearly stumbled, falling down the stairs. His heart began to race. What was going on here? Should he leave them here?

And if the situation could get any worse… Peeves appeared. Immediately, the poltergeist shouted on the top of his lungs. "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"

Harry wished he could just sink into the floor…

-----------------------------

Unaware of the chaos down beyond, Roy was shelving the books that had been returned that day. Out of the corner of his eye, Roy noticed something. Walking over to it, he picked it up. It was a small black book with an untidy cover. On the inside there was the name, T.M. Riddle. Roy frowned. Someone had left their diary in the library.

------------------------------

'What's a Shaman! Wait a minute…

If it's a secret, why is he blabbing to me!'

(Manta, Shaman King Vol 1, Reincarnation 1: The Boy who Dances with Ghosts)

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-passing out Easter eggs to everyone-

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. –smile-

**PLEASE REVIEW!** (And take a chocolate bunny if you do)


	9. Redefined Honor, The Mysterious Diary

Mesa no own FMA or HP

Hahaha! I live! Sorry for the long wait everyone. –cough- everything has been hectic as of late. (Dude, it is not a good sign when I'm having emotional breakdowns every week due to school… nor is it right if I'm getting sick every other week for that matter… wonder if something is wrong me? O.O;; Hope not)

Yeah anyways you guys don't want to hear about my life right? I'll just skip all the useless rambling and head straight for the story. XD

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter IX**

**Redefined Honor; The Mysterious Diary**

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READY STEADY CAN'T HOLD ME BACK

READY STEADY GIVE ME GOOD LUCK

READY STEADY NEVER LOOK BACK

LET'S GET STARTED READY STEADY GO

----------------

If the school could have plunged any deeper into pandemonium, it would have. Whispers and rumors spread faster than a wildfire. Harry wished he could have disappeared completely as the teachers tried to hush the students and take Justin and Nearly Headless Nick up to the infirmary. Professor McGonagall escorted Harry up to Dumbledore's office where the black haired boy was currently standing, awaiting his punishment or whatever lecture that was about to come.

Harry looked around. Dumbledore's office was … exclusive, so to speak. It was a large circular room with trinkets everywhere. Countless glass orbs floated around, circling in a constant pattern. Various other instruments whirled and blew puffs of smokes. Several of the silver objects glowed luminously. On the walls, rows of portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses lined up. Every one of them was currently slumbering, not noticing that Harry was in the room. On the shelves was the tattered Sorting Hat. Instantly, the Sorting Hat's words from his first year echoed in his mind: _You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin would help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that…._

A strange gagging noise snapped Harry out of his thoughts. Sitting on a golden perch behind him was a strange bird. Half of its feathers laid scattered on the ground. Its black eyes were dull and lifeless. It looked like extremely ill.

'I hope it doesn't die while I'm in here… I don't think I could take it,' Harry thought glumly to himself. He didn't want to be blamed for killing Dumbledore's bird too while he was at it. No sooner had he had thought that, the bird burst into flames.

Harry gave a yelp of surprise and quickly looked around for some water to put the fire out. It was too late. The bird had completely burned away into a pile of ashes. As if his fate couldn't get any worse, Dumbledore suddenly walked in.

"Professor," Harry stammered, stumbling over his words. The day had been very tiring and Harry was reaching his breaking point. "Your bird – I didn't – I couldn't do anything – he just."

To Harry's surprise, Dumbledore merely smiled. "Well, it's about time. He's been looking dreadful for days; I've been telling him to get a move on."

Harry just gaped. Dumbledore chuckled lightly and explained. "Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Look."

Harry peered at the pile of ashes. Slowly but surely, a small wrinkled head poked its way out of the ashes. Harry let out a sigh of relief. "It's a shame you had to see him on his Burning Day. He's really a handsome creature most of the time, a wonderful red and golden plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

Dumbledore took a seat behind his large wooden desk; his blue eyes never leaving Harry. "Now, Harry, I want to have a talk with you."

Harry blinked and then remembered why he was here. Oh boy… it was going to be a long night.

--------------------------

Upstairs, Shinka's tail swished back and forth. Her piercing onyx black eyes watched her prey in the darkness of the night. The sounds scratching and scampering whispered throughout the room. At the edge of one of the beds, a rat darted back and forth.

Shinka's eyes narrowed, her fur already beginning to stand on its ends. She always thought there was something wrong with that rat. It would be best to just kill it now before it caused any trouble. Now, as long as that red head boy doesn't come walking in…

Shinka crouched, poised to pounce. Dead rat anyone?

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By the time morning came, most of the chaos had died down, but the fear was still present. There had been a mad rush of students signing up to return back home for the Christmas holidays. None of them wanted to try braving the vacation at school when there was a possibility that they might be the next one to be attacked.

Fred and George found the entire situation quite amusing. They would march ahead of Harry and shouting "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming though…" On the side they would jokingly ask Harry who his next target would be or how they would try to ward him off with a large clove of garlic.

Percy and Ginny didn't find the situation funny at all. Fred and George's antics weren't helping either. To Harry though, Fred and George's jokes made him feel better. It was their way of telling him, 'Harry? The Heir of the Slytherin? No way! We believe our mate has nothing to do with it! But in the mean time we'll make a joke out of it!' Or something like that…

Ron, Hermione and Ed had also been supportive of Harry. They weren't going to leave him alone to deal with it all by himself. Hermione excitedly whispered to Ron and Harry that the Polyjuice potion was almost done. Ed groaned when he heard that; he really had hoped that they have given up on that idea.

The days, to Harry at least, rolled by slowly. But without a doubt, the term came to an end and winter came silently at night. A thick blanket of snow now covered Hogwarts. The razor sharp edge of cold sliced through the night. Snowflakes danced upon the wind, slowing falling. The mandrakes, according to Professor Sprout, were growing nicely and needed to be fitted with socks and scarves for the winter. This brought some relief to many people. Though, it didn't stop students from quickly retreating home as the first day of winter break begun.

Harry found himself being able to relax and breathe again. With almost the entire school gone, there was no longer any taunting, whispering behind his back, jumping the moment he wanted to speak, the hissing, and gossip. It was all gone with the wind. Just blissful silence. The only people he had to worry about was Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Oh well, Hogwarts was big enough. It should be more than easy enough to avoid them.

------------------------

Three days into the winter break and Ed was wandering the hallways. This year, Al and everyone couldn't make it to Hogwarts but they did all send their love and gifts. Honestly, Ed didn't blame them. It took weeks to get here, having to cross an ocean and travel quite a distance on land as well. He wasn't sure what Roy got, but whatever letter Hawkeye (or who ever it was) sent definitely caused Roy to pale a few shades. Ed wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. He did know that Hawkeye sent about ten boxes worth of paperwork which caused Roy to twitch uncontrollably and mutter about how paperwork would be the death of him. That was fun to watch.

Ed tugged on his red and golden scarf. The cold was sharp and prickled. He took a deep breath and blew out, watching the little puffs of his breath freeze and be swept away by the wind.

As he turned around the corner, Ed ran into his conflict of the day: Malfoy.

Ed scowled. Of all the people he could have run into, it had to be Malfoy. What a wonderful way to start the morning. Malfoy, on the other hand, glared right back. It was obvious that both didn't want to see each other.

"So, you decided to act brave and stay for the winter, shrimp," taunted Malfoy.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BEANSPROUT?" Ed's glare increased ten fold towards the younger boy. Quickly regaining his cool, Ed shot back his own snide remark. "And I guess you decided to stay and plan who you'll be targeting next."

Malfoy snorted. "As if I were the Heir of Slytherin. You just assume that because I'm in the Slytherin house, that I'm the heir. Too bad I'm not. If I knew who it was I would be congratulating them for doing a fine job."

'So if he's telling the truth, then who is the heir,' Ed thought to himself. He glared at the younger boy warily. "Yeah," snorted Ed, sarcasm laced heavily on his words. "I so believe you."

Malfoy's glare grew shaper. "Believe what you want you Griffin-dork," he snarled. "I really could care less. I hope the monster somehow manages to eat you next or that who ever is behind this, targets you next."

-------------------------

Upstairs in the library, Shinka was at it again. That rat had managed to get away all the times she tried to attack. Many times it was usually because it ran to its master in time and its master would scold her. Shinka scowled. She would kill that rat sooner or later. It was way too crafty to be just a regular rat. She let out a low hiss and pounced once more. This time the rat couldn't be saved by its master.

------------------------

Roy, meanwhile, was going through the student registry in hopes of finding this… T.M. Riddle. He wasn't having much luck. Whoever Riddle was he wasn't a current student enrolled in Hogwarts. So, Roy then turned to the past years' registry. With some luck he found what he was looking for.

Tom Marvolo Riddle was a student enrolled at Hogwarts fifty years ago. He was awarded a special award (the book didn't say why) and was found on the list of old Head Boys. Riddle's name also was on the old Medal for Magical Merit list as well. He was also enrolled here during the time the last Chamber of Secrets was open. Roy's eyebrow rose. Interesting… While Riddle certainly sounded like a bright, smart student, it still didn't explain why his diary was on the floor of the library.

Roy sat back in his chair and pondered. There was always the possibility that Riddle had left it shelved on one of the bookshelves fifty years ago and due to a student or perhaps Shinka, it had fallen out of the bookcase. Then again, Riddle sounded like a model person and didn't sound like someone who would throw away anything so easily like that. Interesting… unless someone had found Riddle's diary and was currently using it for their own use.

Roy flipped through the diary. For the most part it looked brand new. There was no writing at all, not even a date or from grandma. No magic spell Roy could find would reveal anything hidden on the pages nor did anything scientific or alchemy wise would appear when Roy examine it. Strange.

Any thoughts were soon interrupted by a sudden large –CRASH!- Roy winced and looked up. A bookcase had fallen over. Many students were snapped out of their studying, startled at the noise. Roy grimaced at the thought. He knew exactly was behind it… It was a certain hellish reddish brownish kitten. No sooner had he had identified the culprit that said kitten came darting towards chasing Scabbers, Ron's pet rat. Roy twitched and wondered what on earth he did to deserve this.

"Rrrreow!"

Roy grabbed Shinka by her neck as she came darting by, allowing the rat to scamper off. Shinka glared at Roy as if saying "HEY! What are you doing! You're letting him get away!"

"Stop causing destruction, Shinka," Roy scolded her and set her on his desk. Shinka just continued to glare back. A swish of her tail caused an ink bottle to open and spill onto the empty pages of Riddle's diary. Roy groaned. He should have seen that coming. Shinka always spilled ink when she wants to create a mess. At least it was only on Riddle's diary and not any of his paperwork.

Roy started to clean up the mess when he noticed something odd. Riddle's diary… it was sucking up the ink. Soon after, in a clean crisp cursive handwriting, words began to appear on the page. _'Hello… My name is Tom Riddle… Why do you have my diary?' _Roy started at it disbelief. He set down his wand and picked up a quill. Let's test this out…

'_Hello Tom. My name is Roy Mustang… Someone left your diary in the library,' _Roy wrote in the diary. Perhaps Tom could tell him more about the Chamber of Secret.

'_Perhaps they left it there because this diary holds terrible memories of horrible things. Things that were covered up. Things that happened at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'_

Roy blinked at the words that appeared before him. Could Riddle be talking about the Chamber of Secrets? He had to find out. _'Tom… Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?'_

Riddle's handwriting began untidier as if he was rushing to tell his story. _'Of course I know about the Chamber of Secrets. In my day, they told us it was a legend, that it did not exist. But this was a lie. In my fifth year, the Chamber was opened and the monster attacked several students, finally killing one. I caught the person who'd open the Chamber and he was expelled. But the Headmaster, Professor Dippet, ashamed that such a thing had happened at Hogwarts, forbade me to tell the truth. A story was given out that the girl had died in a freak accident. They gave me a nice, shiny, engraved trophy for my trouble and warned me to keep my mouth shut. But I knew it could happen again. The monster lived on, and the one who had the power to release it was not imprisoned.'_

Roy just stared at the words for a minute. This was getting more and more fascinating. So Riddle did know something about the Chamber of Secret. _'What do you mean?' _Roy wrote back.

'_I can show you, if you like,' _came Riddle's reply._ 'You don't have to take my word for it. I can take you inside my memory of the night when I caught him.'_

Roy paused. Every fiber of him said "Careful… this might be a trap…" but if he didn't trust the boy, then he was no closer to finding out more about the Chamber. Warily he glanced towards the door. On the bright side, since winter break had started the chances of someone coming in was slim to none. Only Edward would be coming up here soon.

'_Let me show you.'_

Roy took the chance. This was the last clue that they had. _'Very well.'_ Roy nearly ended burning the book to ashes the moment the pages decided to start flipping by themselves. They stopped in the middle of July, on the 13th. There was a small box that flickered in the middle, like a distorted television show. Roy reached to touch the box. The moment he did, the world became a blur of colors…

Shinka gave a startled "meow!" as she watched Roy suddenly disappeared. At the very same moment the door opened. "Roy?"

------------------------

Ed slowly climbed up the stairs towards the library. For some reason Malfoy's words still echoed in his mind. He had stopped to tell Harry and the others about what Malfoy said but left before he heard whether they were still going to use the Polyjuice potion. At the moment though, Ed didn't really care. His mind was a little numb.

There was something different about Malfoy. Ed wasn't sure… but now that he had thought about it long and hard, there was something very different about the boy. It was almost as if what Ed was seeing every day was an act. Ed blinked before scowling. This was going to bug him all day.

The echoing of Shinka's meows indicated that Ed was getting closer. Hopefully Shinka hadn't destroyed the library yet. He didn't want to spend another day trying to fix and clean everything up again.

Ed opened the door. "Roy?" Hm… he wasn't here. How odd. Ed walked inside. It was strange that Roy wasn't at his desk. Perhaps he was shelving books. Ed took a seat as Shinka leaped into his lap and began to tug at his shirt. Ed picked up Shinka and stared in her eyes. "Shinka, what are you doing?"

Shinka growled furiously. If there was ever a time she wished she could speak human tongue, now would be it. Her master's crush had just been eaten by a book and her master wasn't attempting to listen to her! Looks like she'll just have to wait.

------------------

Once again, Draco Malfoy was found pacing. He was pacing in the privacy of his dorm room. Crabbe and Goyle had left in search of food to fill their bottomless stomachs. Draco had other things on his mind beside food. Now why on earth did he say all those weird things to shrimp? He should have just taken the glory and basked in it and ignored the fool.

Draco collapsed into a chair. His mind was spinning. Ever since he saved Potter from the rogue bludger, his life took a sharp turn and headed towards confusion and insanity. Somehow worrying over Potter like that… it was a foreign feeling. Friends… what good were friends? Why bother with friends when you can have loyal… well maybe not loyal, servants like Crabbe and Goyle? Friends were a hassle. Friends actually sounded really good… Someone he could talk to… Crabbe and Goyle weren't exactly the most intelligent people to have a heartwarming conversation with. Not to mention Crabbe and Goyle just followed him around because his father told them to. Thus, Crabbe and Goyle weren't really friends to begin with— just two idiots who follow him around.

Draco pinched himself. "I should have went home for Christmas," he mumbled to himself. Perhaps it would have distracted him for the time being about all these questions in his head. Or not, going home probably wouldn't have helped at all. He would just be going home to an empty house anyways. Both of his parents were away somewhere in France for the holidays.

Draco groaned and punched a pillow. "This is all your fault, Potter!"

--------------------------

Upstairs, Harry sneezed and looked around. He hoped he wasn't coming down with a cold.

-------------------------

An hour had passed since Roy was sucked into the book. Ed, of course, didn't know that, so he spent that hour looking all over the library for the older alchemist. Shinka, furious at the fact that she couldn't somehow tell her master what really happened, was pacing back and forth like a caged lion, wishing she had something to destroy.

Ed fell back into a chair with a –flomp- Where on earth was Roy? Ed frowned. Oh well… might as well take a nap then. Just as golden eyes closed there was a –bang!- and the book on the desk unexpectedly glowed and shook like it was possessed by a ghost. Out of nowhere, Roy appeared and inelegantly fell onto Ed.

"Ah, Fullmetal," said Roy. "Prefect timing. We need to talk. I know who opened the Chamber of Secret fifty years ago."

---------------------------------

"Lord . . . what the hell am I doing here?"

(Wolfwood, Trigun)

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hehe, you guys won't kill me for taking so long to update right? And you're not gonna kill me if I say I can't promise the next chapter will be anytime soon? And you'll still leave a review right? Please say you'll leave a review. O.O

**REVIEW PLEASE! **


	10. Crumbling Pride, Holiday Madness

Mesa no FMA

X.x Okay Seito chan is officially dead. –sigh- preparing for college is a major butt. –growls- Plus Seito chan has gotten real lazy… (though I am trying to get back to the once a month update on every holiday… it's sorta working?)

Anyways, enjoy the story while you stuff yourself with turkey! Take some pumpkin pie, don't forget the stuffing! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! –smile-

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter X**

**Crumbling Pride; Holiday Madness**

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_kokoro wa (hashiru) ano sora no shita_

_karamawari suru kimochi ga sakebi dasu no o tomerarenai_

My heart -runs- underneath that sky

I can't stop my idle feelings from crying out

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"You're joking."

Ed was rigid like a statue. Roy had just told him about everything that happened fifty years ago from the memory Riddle left in his diary. It was almost too much for the blond alchemist's mind to the process. Hagrid was the one who unleashed the monster fifty years ago… It was hard to believe that the giant man who seemed so friendly was responsible for killing a student. Ed didn't want to believe it.

"You don't have to believe it, you know. It's just one possible lead. We have no way of confirming if it is completely right, Fullmetal." Roy leaned back in his chair.

"Nothing short of asking Hagrid himself, anyway. That'll be a lovely conversation. 'Hagrid, have you been setting a monster loose on innocent children these past couple months?'" Ed said sarcastically. "Harry, Ron and Hermione are going to flip if they ever hear about it."

"There is always the possibility that Riddle caught the wrong person," said Roy. He pried Shinka off his desk. The reddish-brownish kitten was eyeing the stack of papers with a mischievous glint in her eyes. The last thing Roy needed was Shinka knocking over all his papers.

"True…" Ed mumbled. He tried to sink further into his chair. What a messed up holiday this was starting to become.

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"Major General!"

"What is it now, Major Arms? I'm a little busy here."

-Gulp!- "Ma'am… the information you requested came in."

An eyebrow raise. "Wonderful… just in time for the Christmas rush… Information has _–wonderful-_ timing."

"Was… that sarcasm, Major General?"

Glare. "Of course not, Major Arms." Major Arms was quite sure it was sarcasm. "Now if you're done standing there, you can grab a chair and join First Lieutenant Swords and I and –help- us FILE these goddam papers!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

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Christmas couldn't have arrived any faster. With the exception of Hermione – who apparently heard the entire conversation about Hagrid and Riddle's diary – demanding to know every little detail that she could have possibly missed before she started eavesdropping, and Roy literally being crushed by the amount of paperwork Hawkeye sent a week before Christmas (this was adding to the pile sent before winter break started), the rest of winter break seemed to be sailing by smoothly. There wasn't even a fight or put down from Malfoy at all. In fact, the Slytherin boy seemed to be lost in his thoughts more than usual. Harry had a worried look in his eyes and would often shoot a quick glance at the blond boy. Shinka even managed to stay out of trouble, though she still vowed to destroy that rat soon enough.

Christmas morning was pure chaos though. Shinka was doing everything from chasing tinsel to literally tearing apart the wrapping paper of her gift to chasing her newest toy mouse around the common room. Roy stopped by early in the morning to deliver the last of Edward's gifts. The younger alchemist had mostly received books and had already buried his nose into one of them. It kept him from feeling slightly homesick and missing Al (though honestly, it wasn't working that well). Everyone had received what Ed called the Weasley Gift Pack: a homemade sweater from Mrs. Weasley and a large plum cake. Harry received 'Flying with the Cannons' a Quidditch book on his favorite team from Ron, a new book bag from Ed, and a luxury eagle-feather quill from Hermione. Roy had gotten ink remover and a medium sized ball that floated from Ed. The blond boy had muttered something in between the lines of indestructible, catches on fire and use for target practice. Ron received a new board for his wizard chess pieces and a little figure of his favorite Quidditch player that flew on a mini broomstick.

Ed also managed to plan a little surprise for Roy. To get Roy back for the snowball fight last year, the blond alchemist set up several snowball traps for the Flame Alchemist. Roy managed to dodge the snowball Ed plainly threw at him, but didn't see the pile of snow that fell on top of him as he opened the door. Roy wasn't all that amused but Ed was rolling on the floor in laughter. It started a snowball fight **inside** the Gryffindor Common Room. Luckily, the five of them managed to clean up the common room before Professor McGonagall caught them.

Hogwarts was adorned with all sorts of Christmas decorations. Christmas trees covered in snow stood in the hallways giving off a pleasant pine smell. In the Grand Hall, snow fell from the ceiling, disappearing before it touched the ground. Shiny golden, red, and green tinsel were looped on the wall. Shinka was found playing with it. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossed the ceiling.

Ed strolled into the Grand Hall, admiring all the decorations. He was the first to arrive for dinner that night. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were still outside, continuing their snowball fight. Roy and Ed were out there earlier launching their attacks at each other. Hell, even Malfoy joined in on the fun.

-Flashback-

"Don't think you're going to win this year, Roy," said Ed. He rolled the snowball in his hand, packing the snow tighter. Ed was planning to pay Roy back for every single snowball the Flame Alchemist threw at him last year. It shouldn't be too hard. It was only seventy-two snowballs.

Roy only smiled back. "Now, now, Fullmetal, You know fire always beats ice." The familiar white spark gloves adorned Roy's hands.

Ed noticed this and frowned. "Hey, this is a snowba-"

-BOOM!-

Ed ducked just in time to miss the stream of flames that went over his head. Roy merely smirked. "Hey! Not! Fair!" shouted Ed as he dodged the next volley of attacks.

Roy's smirk grew larger. "All's fair in love and war, Fullmetal!"

A few yards away, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared with disbelief. Ron dropped the snowball that he was making to the ground with a –thud!- Mr. Mustang was shooting fire at Ed… Wasn't that dangerous? Perhaps they should avoid those two….

"Looks like Mr. Mustang finally decided to take out the trash."

The three Gryffindors turned around, snapped out of their thoughts. There stood Malfoy behind them. Surprisingly Crabbe and Goyle weren't present. "Stuff it, Malfoy," Ron snapped. He wasn't going to let Malfoy ruin his Christmas afternoon.

Draco opened his mouth to say something when a snowball flew into his face. It seemed Ed heard what Malfoy had called him. Angrily, Draco wiped the snow off his face and yelled back at Ed, "You bastard shrimp! You'll pay for that!"

Harry watched in amazement as Ed managed to yell back "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BUG SO SMALL THAT YOU NEED A MIRCOSCOPE TO SEE?!" while dodging all of Mr. Mustang's flame attacks. Draco opened his mouth to throw back another insult when another snowball planted itself on his face. That snowball was from Roy who was annoyed that someone was distracting Edward. That was the last straw for Draco. He picked up a handful of snow and marched straight onto the battlefield.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. Malfoy… was going into the battle before them? Now there was no way they were going to let that happen. Picking up their own snowballs, they raced down the hill. CHARGE!

-End of Flashback-

Unfortunately for Ed, Roy won… again. Ed wasn't sure how, but he did know that Roy used Alchemy. The question was when did the **Flame** Alchemist know how to create a transmutation circle that created an avalanche? (Completely different elements!) Perhaps that was Roy's protection when the weather was rainy and he couldn't create a flame.

Anyways, Ed and Roy left the snowball fight early. Both wanted to grab a change of clothes and a hot shower before dinner. Neither of them wanted to sit through dinner soaking wet and feeling soggy.

Outside though, Harry and Draco were laying on the ground, breathing heavily. Ron and Hermione had just left seconds before while Harry and Draco were still in the middle of the war of snowballs. "You know, Potter," Draco started, taking in a deep breath of frosty air. "Your throwing arm sucks. I see why you're only the seeker. You would never make it as a chaser."

"I," said Harry, trying to catch his breath. "Can say the same thing about your catching abilities."

Draco didn't say anything, but threw a handful of snow at Harry anyways.

----------

"Fullmetal! Come over here."

Ed snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. Roy was standing a few feet away. "Hm?" Ed tilted his head. Now when did Roy arrive? Ed walked towards Roy with a slightly puzzled look; he must have been deep in his thoughts if he didn't hear the older man walk into the room.

Roy pointed towards the ceiling. "Look up and tell me what you see," Roy instucted. Ed didn't notice the growing smile on Roy's face. Looking up, Ed said, "What about it? There's nothing but holly and mistletoe…" Ed trailed off as he felt something wet plant itself on his cheek. As a tingling feeling of warmth slowly spread though his body, Ed stared at Roy. Did he just… Ed was about to ask Roy why when he was cut off by someone else.

"Oh, are we early?"

Ed twirled around, seeing Ron and Hermione walk into the Grand Hall. Hermione looked at Ed. "Ed are you alright? You look a bit flushed."

Ed fought back his blush. "N-nothing!" he stammered out. Ron and Hermione looked at him, a look of worry growing on their faces. While Ed tried to convince them otherwise, Roy stared out the window, ignoring the conversation. So much for convincing himself that he wasn't falling in love…

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Christmas dinner at Hogwarts never failed to impress. Roasted chicken with tender skin, plump apples that oozed with sweet cinnamon and sugar glaze, warm hot cocoa with marshmallows floating in the swirl of cream and slowly disappearing, and a honey almond salad that brought a refreshingly sweet yet tangy taste. There was plum pudding and the ever dreadful fruitcake that lay hidden on the table. Eggnog was popular too. It was all finished up with warm freshly baked yellow cake decorated with red and green frosting.

Even the Professors were high in spirits on Christmas. Dumbledore had led them in a few of his favorite Christmas Carols. Hagrid was booming more and more loudly with each goblet of eggnog he consumed. Fred and George pulled off one of their best pranks of the year. They had bewitched Percy's prefect badge so that it now read "Pinhead."

Christmas is wonderful, isn't it?

-------------------------

Before everyone knew it, Christmas had come and gone. Students came back, pouring in with their new clothes and toys, showing them off to their friends. Greetings and hugs were exchanged. The fear of attacks still lingered in everyone's minds but for the most part, the gossip about Harry was slowly disappearing. Eventually the excitement died and classes begun again.

Days slowly turned into weeks and without anyone noticing it, February had already arrived. Fear of the monster grew smaller as there had been no other attacks after Nearly Headless Nick and Justin. The Mandrakes were also growing nicely; they would soon be ready for harvest. Even so, it would be a big lie if one was to say **everything** was back to normal. Needless to say there was still a cloud of depression hovering over everyone's head. No Hufflepuff would come even close to ten feet to Harry and Ernie Macmillan, Justin's best friend, would always glare at Harry or make rude/hurtful side remarks whenever Harry was in ear shot. Roy and Ed were still furiously examining Riddle's diary, but suddenly hit a brick wall when someone stole it from Roy's desk.

The worse was when Lockhart decided to so something about the unmistakable gloom. Lockhart worked his magic on the worse possible day: Valentine's Day. Some people were blinded as bright neon shades of pink suddenly appeared everywhere in Hogwarts. Hearts framed with white lace and shiny red hearts darted across the ceiling. Pink flowers were in vases on the table. Heart-shaped confetti was falling from the ceiling. For those who weren't blinded by the colors, what they saw next did.

Cupids… or what was supposed to look like cupids. They looked more like short hairy dwarfs wearing diapers, fake wings, and cheap plastic looking halo. They were carrying little plastic harps and were delivering Valentines' greetings to people. Their voices… Ed cringed and covered his ears as he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ed snarled to no one in particular. Those terrible off-key pitches… argh! And what was with all the pink colored hearts doing on the walls and falling from the ceiling?

Suddenly, Lockhart's voice rang throughout the room, grating on Ed's ears even more. The idiot was also wearing lurid pink robes that matched the room's décor. "Welcome, welcome everyone! I hope you're enjoying the wonderful service of the singing cupids. They'll be delivering your Valentine's to people all day. Please enjoy the rest of the festive activities I had planned for all of you. I would also like to thank the forty-six people who have sent me cards so far."

Ed rushed to his seat before he could collapse from dizziness. This was beginning to be too much for him. As he sat down, he noticed that Ron looked just as disgusted as he was. Harry looked more shocked than anything else. Hermione… Hermione was having a fit of giggles. Ed looked towards the teacher's table. Professor McGonagall had a slight twitch and Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro. Poor Roy looked like he was in pain as he was stuck sitting next to Lockhart.

Roy had come down late this morning and ended up with the one seat that all the teachers hated: the seat next to Lockhart. Lockhart always sat at the end of the teacher's table and ever since the teachers figured that out, everyone avoided the seat next to him. Some teachers would go as far as skipping meals if they find out they had the seat next to Lockhart.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids will be roving around school today delivering your Valentines'! And the fun doesn't stop there! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirits of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion? And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly dog! Or ask Mr. Mustang how to capture the ladies' attentions since he has a growing fan club almost the same size as mine."

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands, embarrassed. Professor Snape looked as though the first person who asked him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison. Roy gritted his teeth and tugged on his white spark gloves. He really shouldn't have come down for breakfast this morning. Also his fan club wasn't the –almost- the same size as Lockhart's, it was bigger! The hundred plus boxes of chocolate, candy, and cards that blocked his door this morning was more than enough proof. (It was the whole reason to why he was late. Roy had to transmutate his wall to get out of his room this morning). The idiot had no right to brag about his -46- cards. Not to mention, Roy still had to think of a way so that Ed wouldn't find out about all those gifts. Right now they were all shoved away in his room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Roy saw Lockhart's chair. A simple wooden chair that was just like everyone else's. Suddenly, an idea came to him. A smirk graced Roy's face, the perfect revenge. After searching his pockets, Roy leaned over to the back of Lockhart's chair and began to draw something.

Ed was in the middle of asking Hermione if she was one of the forty-six people who sent Lockhart cards when an all too familiar blue light caught his eye. Most people didn't notice, too busy being distracted by the neon pink colors and the singing 'cupids'. Ed frowned slightly. 'Now what is Roy trying to do?' Ed thought to himself.

He soon found out as Lockhart decided it was time to finally stop talking and take a seat… only to have the chair collapse beneath him. Laughter soon rang through Grand Hall. Most of the girls were horrified while most of the guys found this extremely amusing. Even Snape looked amused.

Ed was nearly rolling on the ground in laughter. Wiping the tears from his eyes he thought to himself, 'So that's what Roy was up to. He changed the structure of the chair so that the moment Lockhart applied pressure to the surface of the chair, it would collapse, unable to hold itself up. Absolutely brilliant.'

----------------------

Valentine's Day however, didn't go as smooth. Those 'cupids' were extremely annoying. One embarrassed Harry by delivering a greeting in the middle of the hall. Humiliated, Harry ended up hurting the person who sent it to him: Ginny. Ron wasn't happy but forgave Harry on the count that Harry didn't know it was from Ginny and that the cupids delivering Valentine were stupid.

Lockhart was acting more like an idiot as the day progressed and certain teachers like Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall, who were still upset from that morning, had a dark angry cloud floating above their heads during class. Professor Flitwick was so humiliated from that morning that he canceled class and Roy suddenly had a handful of boys asking him for tips on how to date a girl. One glare from Ed silenced Roy for the rest of the day though.

If there was one good thing that came out of this day, it was that Ed gave Roy some chocolate.

------------------

"Fullmetal? Are you alright? You've been staring at me all day."

Ed snapped out of his thoughts. "I-I-It's n-nothing!" He more or less shouted. Roy smirked. He knew something was bothering Ed, but in the mean time, it was just adorable to see Ed all flustered like that. He couldn't help it; the boy was just too delectable.

Ed fought down his blush. Why was he blushing? Ed quickly looked for a way to avoid the subject. Luckily for him, he didn't have to look far. A horde of boys suddenly rushed into the library shouting out questions, pushing Ed aside and running up to Roy. "Mr. Mustang! Since you know so much about girls, what's the best way to ask her out on a date?!" "How do I tell a girl I like her?" "Where should I take my girlfriend out on a date?" "How I do I become a ladies' man?" "Help!"

Roy silently twitched. Who were these boys and how dare they interrupt his time with Edward. So he was bi, but it's not like he had the easiest time with girls, which may be the reason to why he liked guys more than he liked girls. It was just a natural reaction to his 'charm' that girls followed him. It wasn't his fault. Maybe he should just throw these boys some random answer and kick them out of the library. In a way, it was nice that these boys were coming to him for advice. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.

A glare from Edward though, silenced any thoughts of it being a good idea. "Full-" Roy started. He was cut off by the horde of boys who suddenly started shouting out questions again. "Should I give her flowers or chocolate?!" "Girls don't like me! What should I do?"

Roy watched as Ed's glare intensified and the younger alchemist walked out of the room as the horde of boys further pushed the two apart. Why was everything going wrong today?

------------------------

By the time Roy managed to get the horde of boys out of the library, Ed was far gone. Roy let out a sigh. So much for spending the afternoon with Edward. Roy looked down and saw a red box where Ed had been sitting earlier that afternoon. He picked it up to reveal that it was a simple red box tied with a simple white bow. Roy opened it to find that inside there was about five pieces of chocolate and a little card. It read: Happy Valentine's Day.

Roy blinked and then smiled. So this was what was on Ed's mind. Roy picked up a piece and popped it in his mouth. "Looks like I owe Edward a White Day's gift."

-------------------------

Upstairs in Gryffindor's dormitory, Ed laid on his bed, clutching his pillow. His mind was spinning with various different thoughts and feelings. 'Why did I buy chocolate for Roy,' Ed thought to himself. Valentine's Day was a day that girls gave chocolate to their friends and the one they love. Not boys giving chocolate to other boys. Still… even if Ed did this on White Day, he had a feeling that it would still feel awkward.

It wasn't like he was falling in love, right?

--------------------------

Morning had come all too soon and many students were extremely grateful that all the neon pink colors, hearts, and cupids were gone. Ed's mind was still swimming around with the notion that he was falling in love, no matter how much the boy denied it. He had skipped breakfast and ended up wandering the hallway, lost in thought.

The day continued, for the most part, normally. Most of the students were excited though, as today was the Quidditch match with Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. It was the match for the House Cup, so Harry was in especially high spirits.

That was until Harry heard that voice again. _"Kill this time… let me rip… tear…"_

Harry gave a shout, startling Ron and Hermione who were with him. "I just hear that voice again!" said Harry. "Did you hear it?" Ron shook his head, staring wide-eyed. Hermione on the other hand, slapped her hand to her forehead.

"I think I just understood something! I've got to go to the library!" Without another word, Hermione sprinted away, up the stairs. As she ran, she nearly ran into Ed who was just coming down the stairs. Hermione gave a quick apology and continued her way.

"What's her problem?" asked Ed. His head was still spinning and hopefully the Quidditch game would allow him to direct his attention to something else.

"Dunno, she said she was going to the library," said Ron.

"Why is she going to the library?"

Ron shrugged. "Because that's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library. You do that too, Ed."

Ed blinked. "I do not!"

"Yes, you do."

People started to emerge from the Great Hall from lunch. Their voices and footsteps rang like a chatter of noises. "You better start going, Harry," said Ron, breaking his and Ed's argument.

"Yeah, go win the House Cup for Gryffindor," said Ed. Harry smiled and nodded, then took off to go get ready.

------------------------------

"Mr. Mustang!"

Roy looked up. Hermione stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. It looked like the poor girl had run all the way up here. "Ms. Granger. What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be at the Quidditch game?"

"There's something I need to see first!"

-----------------------------

Harry looked up. He was just about to mount his broom when he saw Professor McGonagall come half marching, half running across the pitch, carrying an enormous purple megaphone.

Up in the stands, Ed saw the same thing and felt his heart drop like a stone. The oppressive feeling weighted heavily. He leaped from his seat and headed down towards the field, Ron following right behind him.

"This match has been canceled," Professor McGonagall called through the megaphone, addressing the pack stadium. There were boos and shouts. Oliver Wood, looking devastated, landed and ran towards Professor McGonagall without getting off his broomstick.

"But Professor!" he shouted. "We've got to play – the cup – _Gryffindor _–"

Professor McGonagall ignored him and continued to speak through her megaphone:

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"

Professor McGonagall beckoned Harry over to her. "Potter, I think you'd better come with me…"

Harry was at loss of words. It was then that Ed and Ron suddenly caught up to them. "Yes, perhaps you'd better come, too Weasley, Elric…" Ed had a look of fear on his face. It was like the blond already knew what happened but just didn't want to believe.

Some of the students swarming around them were grumbling about the match being canceled; others looked worried. Harry, Ron, and Ed followed Professor McGonagall back into the school and up the marble staircase. But they weren't taken to anybody's office this time.

"This will be a bit of a shock," said Professor McGonagall in a surprisingly gentle voice as they approached the infirmary. "There has been another attack… a triple attack this time."

Ed drew in a sharp breath as Professor McGonagall opened the door. Madam Pomfrey was standing over a Ravenclaw girl and she was in between–

"Hermione!" shouted Ron.

"Roy!" shouted Ed at the same time.

Both Hermione and Roy lay utterly still, their eyes open and glassy.

"They were found near the library," said Professor McGonagall. "I don't suppose you can explain why a mirror was near Ms. Clearwater and Ms. Ganger and why this watch was near Mr. Mustang?

She held up a small, circular mirror and a silver watch with an engraving of a lion and a banner. Ed was at a loss of words. No, this wasn't happening!

---------------------------

I treasure every bit of you –

_(Tsubasa RESERVior Chronicles Chapter 74: Your Power)_

---------------------------

-waves flags- well Happy Thanksgiving! –smile- now go take those last minute turkey legs, bit of pie, and gulp of sparkling cider! Hope you all enjoyed the feast!

Next Update: Christmas! No matter what happens, I will ALWAYS post on Christmas or around there depending on how hectic things get. –looks around-

P.S. Here's a lovely treat, be on the lookout for my Christmas stories! This year shall be fun. –grins-

Oh yes! **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Upholding Honor, Creepy Crawly

Mesa no own FMA

Ugh… well here's my gift to you guys. Just like I promised, an update. Yes, yes. Well enjoy! Merry Christmas! Hope you guys have a good one! –smiles-

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter XI**

**Upholding Honor, Creepy Crawly**

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_kimi made (todoke) kitto ato sukoshi_

Surely I'll -reach- you in a little while

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They say in order to understand how important something is to you, you must first lose the thing you call "precious"

Rain…

Is its heaven's blessing or curse? It can wash away the sins of mankind… or drown the earth's sorrows…

Drops of water beat down steady on the silent castle. The sky was a shade of dark gray as the sun hid behind the cloak of the clouds. A quiet murmur ran through Gryffindor's Common Room. Many were in shock, others whispered about conspiracies and theories. They had just lost another classmate to the "horror" of the Chamber of Secret.

"That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff," said the Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, counting on his fingers. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin – why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" he roared to nods and scattered applause.

A boy sat in the corner of the Common Room, ignoring the angry words and the surprised faces. The normally golden eyes were a dull amber color, and there was a turmoil emotions conflicted within them: shock, surprise, horror, anger, concern, and confusion all mashed together in a whirlwind of emotions.

It had been some time since Ed had been thrown into such a shock like this. Death… death was nothing new. He had seen it too many times in his young life while traveling across the country with Al. Roy wasn't even dead… it was just a fake death. Still, it did nothing to soothe the terrifying thoughts of actually losing Roy for real. Losing his mother was hard enough; the thought of losing Roy was crushing.

Ed let out sad sigh. His heart felt heavy. He wanted to do something, but deep down he knew there was little he could do. The Mandrakes would be ready soon and Roy would hopefully be back to normal… There was nothing left to do but wait…

-----------

"Ed seems really depressed about it."

"Yeah. Do you think it's cause he likes Hermione?"

-whack-

"What was that for?!"

"Sometimes I think Hermione is right when she says you're slow to pick up things."

"Hey!"

Harry and Ron sat on the other side of the common room. They thought it was best to leave Ed alone for now. The blond haired boy was obvious taking it harder than everyone else. Harry and Ron didn't exactly know the relationship between Mr. Mustang and Edward: how long they've known each other and so on. It was probably best they didn't interfere until Ed was ready.

"Hey, Ron."

"What?"

"You remember what Hagrid said last night?"

Ron suppressed the urge to shudder. He remembered it alright.

-Flashback-

Harry and Ron quickly made it through the dark hallways of Hogwarts. It was a miracle that they managed to get this far undetected and without getting suspicion from Ed or Hermione. If they had the time, they would have patted themselves on the back for managing to out smart their smart friends for once. Never mind the fact that what they were doing was dangerous, stupid and could get them expelled.

The long shadows plus the invisibility cloak provided more than enough cover for them. The night was quiet and the moon had disappeared behind a large mass of clouds. Within moments, Hagrid's little hut came into view. Harry and Ron picked up their pace. They were close to their destination; it was best not to get caught. It was only when they stood in front of Hagrid's door that they dared remove the cloak and knock.

The door flung open and Harry and Ron found themselves at the end of Hagrid's crossbow. "Oh," said Hagrid, recognizing who it was, "What're you two doin' here?"

Harry eyed the crossbow hesitantly. "What's that for?" asked Harry, as he and Ron slipped inside.

"Nothin'- nothin' –" Hagrid muttered. "I've bein expectin' – doesn' matter – Sit down – I'll make tea-"

Ron and Harry looked at each other. Something… was wrong here. Hagrid didn't seem to be his normal self. He hardly seemed to know what he was doing. He nearly extinguished the fire, spilling water from the kettle on it, and then smashed the teapot with a nervous jerk of his massive hand.

"You okay, Hagrid?" asked Ron.

Hagrid didn't answer. He didn't get a chance to before there was loud knock at the door. Harry and Ron panicked and hid under the invisibility cloak and retreated to a corner. Hagrid, glancing back to see they were hidden, flung open the door.

"Good evening, Hagrid."

There stood Dumbledore, looking dead serious and a man with anxious expression. The man had messy gray hair and wore an odd mixture of clothes: a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots.

"That's my Dad's boss," Ron let out a low whisper. "Cornelius Fudge, the Minster of Magic!"

Another familiar face in behind Fudge walked: Lucius Malfoy. He had a smug look on his face. "Let us be very brief about this, shall we gentlemen?" Malfoy said with a cruel smile.

"Yes- yes" muttered Fudge. He turned to Hagrid. "I'm sorry Hagrid. Had to come. Four attacks on muggle-borns. Things have gone far enough. Ministry's got to act. I'm afraid we're going to have to take you…"

Hagrid paled. "Not Azkaban?"

Fudge stuttered to keep up, looking more and more flustered. The smaller man couldn't even look Hagrid in the eye. " For a short stretch only. Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology. Hagrid, your record is against you, despite that Dumbledore has insisted that you're innocent. The ministry's got to do something – the school governors have been in touch --"

Malfoy choose this moment to interrupt. "Yes, about the school governors. I'm afraid we have _dreadful_ news, Dumbledore." He took out a long roll of parchment. "But the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension – you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an _awful_ loss that would be to the school."

Dumbledore's eyes lost their twinkle for a moment. Even Fudge was surprised by this announcement. "Oh now, see here Lucius," stuttered Fudge. " If _Dumbledore_ can't stop them, I mean to say, who can?"

"That remains to be seen," said Malfoy with a nasty smile. "But as all twelve of us have voted—"

Hagrid leapt to his feet, his shaggy black head grazing the ceiling. "An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" he roared. Malfoy opened his mouth but Hagrid continued. "Yeh can' take Dumbledore! Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

'Calm yourself, Hagrid," said Dumbledore sharply. "If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall, of course, step aside."

"But---" started Fudge.

"No!" growled Hagrid.

Dumbledore silenced them with a raise of his hand. "However, you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

Harry drew in a sharp breath as he could have sworn that Dumbledore's eyes flickered towards him and Ron in the corner.

"Admirable sentiments," said Malfoy, bowing." We shall all miss your – er – highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope that your successor will manage to prevent any- ah- killings"

He strode to the cabin door, opened it, and bowed Dumbledore out. Fudge glanced warily at Hagrid, waiting for the bigger man to leave before him. Hagrid glanced at the corner where Harry and Ron were hiding. "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd had ter do would be ter follow the spiders. That'd lead 'em right! That's all I'm sayin'. Oh and someone will need to feed Fang while I'm away."

The door slammed closed.

Ron pulled off the Invisibility cloak. "We're in trouble now," he said hoarsely. "No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone." Harry could only grimly agree.

--End of Flashback—

Harry looked at Ron. "What do you suppose Hagrid meant by 'follow the spiders'?"

Ron shrugged. "Who knows? I try to stay away from those bloody things whenever I can."

Harry's eyebrow rose. "Don't tell me… you're afraid of spiders aren't you?"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are."

"...Fine! Yes I'm afraid of spiders! Happy now?" Ron glared at Harry who tried to muffle his snicker.

After recovering from his laughing attack, Harry asked Ron, "Why are you afraid of them? We use spiders in Potions all the time and I don't see you freaking out when we do."

Ron shuddered at the thought. "Those are different... they're already dead. When they're alive and stuff, the way they walk..." Ron shuddered again. Harry tried to hide his chuckle again. "It's not funny you know! How would like it if your favorite teddy bear that you were holding suddenly grew eight legs because of a prank your older brothers played on you!" Ron snapped. Harry patted him on the back. "Sorry man, but that's just funny."

-------------------

"Mr. Elric!"

Edward snapped out of his dazed thoughts and looked up at the source of the voice: Professor McGongall. She didn't look happy, but the moment she saw how tired Edward looked, her stern look quickly softened. "I know you must be in shock due to the attack on Mr. Mustang and Ms. Granger but please do not lose focus on reality." She turned away and addressed the class. "Now class today we're discussing..."

"Hey, Ed, you okay?" Ron whispered. As he did Harry noticed something unusual.

Ed nodded tiredly. "Yeah... I didn't sleep much last night."

"Are those spiders?" Harry randomly asked, pointing to a line of spiders crawling up the wall. Ron paled greatly as Ed's eyebrow raised.

"Spiders?" Ed asked before turning to Ron. "And what's wrong with you?"

Harry opened his mouth when Ron snapped back, "Not a word." Ed's eyebrow only raised higher.

"Out with it you two. What do you know?" Ed demanded.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. They had a lot of explaining to do after class was over.

---------------------

"So all we have to do is follow the spiders right? That should be easy enough. I think they're heading towards the Forbidden Forest," said Ed.

"Easy, says you," muttered Ron. Not only were they following spiders but they were going into the most scariest and dangerous places in Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest.

Nightfall blanketed the castle and Ed had seemed to regain part of his old flame. The alchemist wasn't going to let this situation get the better of him and if there was a lead to finding out who was behind these attacks, it was better to figure out who it was now instead of later before someone got killed next time. Under the invisiblity cloak, the three of them darted towards Hagrid's hut to pick up Fang. Fang should know where to go.

Ed took out his wand from his pocket. "Lumos," said Ed and a tiny light appeared on at the end of it.

"Good idea," said Harry. He took out his own wand and said the same spell.

"I'm not even going to try... it'd probably blow up or something..." muttered Ron.

They traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, following the trail of darting spiders. It became darker as they traveled, slivers of moonlight barely passing through the thick treetops. The roots weaved and intertwined together like a spider's web, making hills and holes in the ground.

Ed let out a small sigh. They had been following these spiders for at least half an hour now. When was the trail going to end? The ground suddenly seemed to feel like it was going downhill. It was becoming harder and harder to follow the trail of spiders.

Ed suddenly paused. His senses were tingling, telling him that danger was near. Ron and Harry came to a sudden stop, bumping into Ed. "Something is coming," muttered Ed. He could vaguely hear something that sounded like clicking.

Ron paled greatly, fear gripping his heart. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no---"

"Shut up," said Harry frantically. "They'll hear you!"

"Quiet you two," snapped Ed. "We're surrounded." From the treetops, spiders came crawling down. Not small spiders but spiders the size of cars. They slowly surrounded the three boys. Ron looked like he was going to faint any moment. Ed couldn't blame him; he was having a hard time believing that spiders could be this big.

Slowly, another spider made its way towards them. There was gray on the black of his body and legs and each of the eyes on his ugly, pincer head was milky white. He was blind.

"Aragog! Aragog!" called out the other spiders.

"What is it?" Aragog asked.

"Men," clicked on the spiders.

"Is it Hagrid?"

"Strangers."

"Then kill them."

"Wait! We're friends of Hagrid," Harry shouted. A fierce clicking spread throughout all the spiders. Aragog paused.

"Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before," the old spider said slowly.

"Hagrid is in trouble," said Ed. "That's why we've come."

"In trouble?" Aragog asked slowly. "But why has he sent you?"

Ed thought quickly. "They think, up at the school, that Hagrid has done something to the students. They took him to Azkaban."

Aragog's pincers clicked furiously. "But that was years ago. Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free."

Ed frowned. The pieces were slowly beginning to come together in his mind.

"So you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Harry, feeling a cold sweat on his forehead.

"I!" said Aragog, clicking angrily. "I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness."

"So you never attacked anyone?" asked Ed.

"Never," croaked the spider. "It would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never harmed a human. The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind likes the dark and the quiet…"

Ed took the moment to glance back at Ron. The redhead was still in shock, frozen. Ed supposed it was good thing. The last thing they needed was Ron to say something stupid to upset the spiders. Ed turned back to face Aragog. "Do you know what did kill that girl then?" Ed asked calmly. "Because it's back and attacking someone again."

The spiders all moved angrily. They rustled and clicked their pincers restlessly. Obviously Ed's words had some impact on them.

"That thing that lives in the castle," said Aragog slowly, "is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about in the school."

"What is it?" said Ed urgently. This could be a vital clue in stopping the creature.

"We do not speak of it!" said Aragog fiercely. "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dreadful creature, though he asked me, many times."

Ed sensed the conversation was over as Aragog retreated back in the direction that he had come. "Then we'll just take our leave," muttered Ed.

"Go?" said Aragog slowly. "I think not…"

Harry stared. "But—"

"My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good bye, friends of Hagrid."

Ron let out a gasp, the closest thing to a word he had said since meeting Aragog. A grim look set on Ed's face. This was not good. Ed clapped his hands together, starting the transmutation process. The light from alchemistic reaction temporarily blinded the spiders as Ed transmutated a spear to injure the spiders that were still attacking.

"We're not going to be able to hold ourselves against all them," shouted Harry. He fired a spell at another spider.

"Ed, Harry," shouted Ron. "Look. It's my dad's car!" Ron clung to Fang who was looking just as scared as Ron.

Ed and Harry turned and looked. Sure enough, driving straight towards them was Mr. Weasley's car. Its headlights were glaring, its horn screeching, and its body knocking spiders aside. "Get in," yelled Ed, leaping in the car. Harry and Ron followed, grabbing Fang along with them. They were barely inside when the car gunned the engine and took off, plowing through masses of spiders and the thick branches of the forest.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally managed to elude the spiders and make it safely to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The car then just threw all of them out and disappeared back into the forest. Ed rubbed his head where it had hit the ground, cursing and muttering under his breath.

"Follow the spiders," Ed muttered. "I'll never forgive Hagrid for this one. We're lucky to be alive."

"Ditto," mumbled Ron, still trying to get those mental images of spiders out of his mind.

"I bet Hagrid thought that Aragog wouldn't hurt his friends," said Harry.

"See, that's exactly Hagrid's problem!" Ron continued to rant on.

Meanwhile, the gears in Ed's mind started to turn and work. The pieces were slowly coming together. Hagrid was innocent and was probably framed for the opening of the Chamber. But who would do it? The creature of the Chamber was still a mystery but nothing a few hours of research in the library wouldn't solve. Aragog provided some clues to it. There was something else that Aragog had said that struck Ed as peculiar.

"Oh," said Ed, suddenly realizing it. Harry and Ron paused their conversation and looked at Ed. "That girl that died. Aragog said she was found in the bathroom. What if she never left the bathroom? What if she's still there?" questioned Ed.

Harry and Ron looked at Ed for a moment, the idea finally clicking together in their head. "You don't think—not _Moaning Myrtle_?" they asked together.

------------------------

"Let's put some prices on our lives. How much for your family? Your girl? The last stranger you passed on the street?

How much do you think he'll pay for you?"

Bust Gamer

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I'm pretty sure, that quote isn't very accurate… and I don't have the book on me right now (I don't know if the title is even right). Meh, shall have to change it later.

Well Merry Christmas! Happy New Years!

And don't forget to leave me a gift… a review!

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


	12. Forgotten Pride, The Chamber of Secrets

Mesa no own FMA and HP

Well… it's been awhile since I've updated. O.o amazing what you can do when you don't have any internet and school starts in less then a week. –sigh-

Anyways, not much to say other then enjoy, and thanks for waiting for long without threatening to kill me xD

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Last time  
**---------

Meanwhile, the gears in Ed's mind started to turn and work. The pieces were slowly coming together. Hagrid was innocent and was probably framed for the opening of the Chamber. But who would do it? The creature of the Chamber was still a mystery but nothing a few hours of research in the library wouldn't solve. Aragog provided some clues to it. There was something else that Aragog had said that struck Ed as peculiar.  
"Oh," said Ed, suddenly realizing it. Harry and Ron paused their conversation and looked at Ed. "That girl that died. Aragog said she was found in the bathroom. What if she never left the bathroom? What if she's still there?" questioned Ed.  
Harry and Ron looked at Ed for a moment, the idea finally clicking together in their head. "You don't think—not Moaning Myrtle?" they asked together.  
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**Chapter XII  
Forgotten Pride, The Chamber of Secrets**

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atsuku hizashi ga terasu kono michi no mukou  
_The sunlight shines hotly across this path_

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Ed wandered through the halls of Hogwarts, his mind lost in thoughts. This entire mystery was like a giant puzzle. He had pieces that didn't fit, pieces that were missing, and a whole bunch of fragmented completed sets that didn't make sense. Ed ran his hand through his bangs. He needed to calm down. Getting angry and thinking irrationally wasn't going bring back Roy and the rest of the Petrified people back any sooner.

"Mr. Elric!"

Ed turned around quickly. Dammit, that was right. He's supposed to be in class right now, wasn't he? He paled just a little when he saw who was the source of the voice, Professor McGonagall. "What are you doing, Elric?" asked Professor McGonagall. She had a stern look on her face, a look that said she wasn't going to buy whatever excuse Edward came up with.

Ed gulped. "Ah, well you see Professor, I just thought, well I wanted to see Mr. Mustang and Hermione cause yeah I haven't seen them in awhile." For a vague moment Ed had the urge to hit his head at the pitiful excuse he had just given.

Professor McGonagall stared at him. "Of course," she said, her voice almost cracking. "Of course, I realize this has been hardest on the friends of those who have been… I quite understand. Yes, you may go, Mr. Elric, to visit Miss Granger and Mr. Mustang. I will inform Professor Binns where you've gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission."

Ed stared for a moment. She believed him? Ed grinned. "Thanks Professor." He ran off to the hospital wing.

-----------

Madam Pomfrey reluctantly let Ed come in. "There's no point in talked to a petrified person… but very well. You may see them," said Madam Promfrey.

Ed slipped into a seat next to Roy's bed. She did have a point. Roy and Hermione didn't have the slightly clue that they had visitors. It was like talking to a wall. Ed clenched his fists, feeling angry at himself for not being able to do anything. Hopefully Myrtle would be able to shed some light on legend and the monster.

"Baka Colonel. You keep getting into trouble lately."

A sudden soft meow startled Ed. "Shinka," hissed Ed. "How did you get here?"

Somehow Shinka, being the smart kitten she is, got out of Gryffindor Tower and made her way down to the hospital wing. Ed scooped up his kitten into his arms, hoping Madam Pomfrey didn't hear him or Shinka.

Glancing back at Roy, Ed noticed something odd. There was something in Roy's hand. Ed pried open Roy's hand, slipping out the piece of paper he was holding tightly. Ed smoothed out the paper.

_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundred of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

Beneath it in Roy's handwriting was a single word:_ pipes_.

Suddenly everything clicked together in Ed's minds. "The monster in the chamber is a Basilisk," Ed said breathlessly. "That's the reason why only Harry could hear it. Nobody died from the attack because no one had seen the Basilisk straight in the eye, only it's reflections. Colin saw it through his camera. The Basilisk burned up all the film inside it, but Colin just got petrified. Justin must have seen it through Nearly Headless Nick! Nick got the full blast of the Basilisk stare, but he's already dead. He can't die again. Hermione and the Ravenclaw prefect girl were found with a mirror while Roy was found with his watch. They must have seen it through the reflection. Hermione probably told the Ravenclaw girl to look around corners with a mirror. As the girl pulled out her mirror, Roy probably looked at his watch for the time…"

Ed paused. There was still one more victim: Finch's cat, Mrs. Norris. "Water," mumbled Edward. Harry had told him there was water on the ground, probably from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The cat had probably seen the Basilisk's reflection in the water.

Everything was falling into place. Hagrid had said that his roosters had all suddenly died, and the trail of spiders fleeing the school. Everything suddenly made sense.

Ed continued to mumble to himself. "Pipes, what does Roy mean by pipes? How is the Basilisk getting around anyways? Those snakes are huge, someone would have seen it…" he trailed off as the last piece of the puzzle was thrown at him. "The pipes, the snake is getting around in the pipes!" Ed paused for a moment, another thought dawning on him. "Gross, I've been taking a shower with water that the snake probably passed through."

---

Harry and Ron meanwhile were talking as they headed to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Ed had asked to go and confirm with Myrtle how she died.

"Man, I can't believe we're going to see Moaning Myrtle," Ron complained.

They were just passing by the teacher's lounge when they heard loud voices. Curious to why the teachers were having a meeting at this time of day, they stopped by the door to eavesdrop.

"It happened," they heard Professor McGonagall say, "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Harry and Ron looked at each other as they heard Professor Flitwick let out a squeal and Professor Sprout clasped her hands over her mouth.

Snape spoke next, "How can you be sure?"

"The Heir of Slytherin," said Professor McGonagall, "left another message; right underneath the first one. 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever."

"Who is it?" Harry and Ron heard Madam Hooch ask.

"Ginny Weasley."

Harry felt Ron slide to the ground. Ron was crushed. His little sister was taken into the chamber. Ron didn't have much time to recover from the shock before Harry grabbed him and dragged him around the corner as Lockhart burst into the staffroom.

"So sorry – dozed off – what have I missed?" Ron and Harry heard Lockhart say.

Peering into the staffroom, Harry and Ron saw Snape step forward. "Just the man," said Snape, "The very man. The monster, Lockhart, has snatched a girl. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

Lockhart blanched.

"That's right, Gilderoy," chipped Professor Sprout. "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance is?"

Harry would have snorted if the situation weren't so serious. That idiot of a teacher actually knew something useful? That was a first.

The two boys listened as each teacher added in what Lockhart had boasted to them to before.

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy," said Professor McGonagall. "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at least."

"V-very well," Lockhart stammered. "I'll – be in my office, getting ready."

He left the room. "Right, said Professor McGonagall. "That's got him out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. The rest of you, please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories."

Harry and Ron ducked around the corner once more as each teacher left the room. Ron's face had lost all color in it. The shock of his sister being taken was still trying to sink in. Harry helped Ron to his feet. What on earth were they going to do now?

----

Ron and Harry were heading back to the dormitories, lost in thought. Ron looked depressed. Harry couldn't blame him. "She knew something, Harry," said Ron. "That's why she was taken. It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was ---" Ron rubbed his eyes frantically. "I mean, she was a pure-blood. There can't be any other reason."

"D'you think there's any chance at all she's not—you know –"

Harry didn't know what to say. There was a high chance that Ginny wasn't alive. They suddenly passed Lockhart's office. "Hey… maybe we should tell Lockhart everything we know," said Harry. "He's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him where we think it is and stuff."

Ron nodded dimly. At least this would give him some hope that his sister all right.

----

Ed raced towards dormitories. He had to find Ron and Harry and tell them about the Basilisk. With this information they could tell the professors and maybe get someone to deal with the giant snake before someone got seriously hurt. Before he did that he wanted to confirm with Moaning Myrtle how she died. He turned the corner, coming near the first floor girls' bathroom.

He didn't expect to see Harry and Ron marching into the bathroom with Lockhart at wand point. "Harry, Ron!" Ed called out, running towards them. Both boys and Lockhart turned and stopped.

"Ah! Mr. Elric! Would you be so kind to tell your friends to put away their wands?" Lockhart asked.

Ed frowned. "Why should I do that?"

"He's actually a fraud. He didn't write any of the books that we've been reading all year," Harry explained.

"So why bring him here if he's going to be of no use?" Ed questioned. He knew it! Lockhart was a fake.

"We figured the teachers would never believe us, and hell, he's so used to taking the claim for things he hasn't done, we figured adding one more story won't hurt him. Not to mention it puts at least my mind at easy that we have an adult wizard along with us and not just three kids," explained Harry.

"Ah… I still don't like the idea that he's here though," said Ed. He opened the door to the bathroom. "Hey Myrtle! You here?"

Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet. "Oh it's you," she said, looking at Harry. "What do you want this time?" she asked Ed.

"To ask how you died," Ed said.

The look on Myrtle's face brightened with a smile. No one had ever asked how she died before. No one ever took interest in it. "Oooooh, it was dreadful," she said. "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyways, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and us his own toilet and then ---" Myrtle paused dramatically and looked up, "I died."

"How?" asked Ed.

"No idea," said Myrtle softly. "I just remembering seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away…" Her eyes became glazed as she remembered the experience. "And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" said Ed.

"Somewhere there," Myrtle replied, pointing to the sink.

"Ed… what does all of this mean?" Ron asked.

Ed examined the sink carefully looking for a clue. "The monster in the Chamber is a giant snake called the Basilisk. It can kill people by looking them straight in the eye. Spiders are a afraid of it, which is why Aragog wouldn't speak of it. Its only enemy is the rooster, which crows kill, which explains why Hagrid's roosters have all ended up dead. Not to mention deadly fangs. Roy figured it was getting through the school by pipes, which would make sense to why the entrance is a sink. Ah ha!" Ed pointed to one of the taps. There scratched into it was engraving of a snake.

"Try to say something, Harry," said Ron.

Harry's forehead crinkled with concentration, imaging the snake to be real. "Open up," he said. To Ron and Ed it sounded more like a strange hissing sound. The tap glowed a brilliant white and began to spin. The sink sank into the ground, leaving a large pipe exposed.

"Excellent," muttered Ed. "We found the entrance."

"I'm going down there," Harry spoke suddenly.

Ed looked at him as if he was crazy. "Me too," said Ron. "My sister is down there!"

"The monster took her," Harry explained to Ed.

"Well… you hardly seem to need me," Lockhart said nervously, inching towards the door. "I'll just---"

Harry pointed his want at Lockhart. "You can go first," snarled Ron.

"On the bright side if he gets eaten, we'll know this is really the entrance. Not to mention it's no lost to the wizarding world," Ed said flatly.

They pushed Lockhart down the pipe first. Ed followed soon afterwards, then Harry and finally Ron. Falling down the pipe seemed endless; It was almost like they were on a long, slimy, dark slide. Harry could see more pipes branch out. Oh no, was that Ed? His friend had slid off into a different part of the Chamber. Harry didn't have much time to about it. He landed with a –thud- on the stone floor was a long tunnel. Lockhart was getting to his feet shakily, looking as white as a ghost. Ron appeared seconds later.

"We must be miles under the school," said Harry, his voice echoing.

"Probably under the lake too," muttered Ron. He got off the ground, looking in disgust at the slime covering him. "Where's Ed?"

The blond alchemist was nowhere in sight. "I think… I saw him fall down one of the other pipes," said Harry.

----

Ed knew Fate was out to get him. He just knew it. There was no way his luck was this bad. Somehow while sliding down that pipe, he managed to take a wrong turn. He groaned as he rubbed his head.

His eyes widened as he looked around. The room he was in looked like a lab, and not just any lab, it an alchemist lab. An array of alchemy circles, calculations and… blood was written all over the walls. Ed drew a sharp breath. There was one in particular that he noticed. It was the same circle he had seen in 5th Research Institute: the alchemy circle for Philosopher Stone.

What was that accursed thing doing here? Ed didn't have time to think about it as a low and dangerous growl came from behind him…

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_"If you want to know the truth, you must have the courage to accept it."  
_- Bear (.hack//sign)

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**PLEASE REVIEW!!**

Hopefully it won't take as long to update the next chapter. X3


	13. Honor or Pride Part 1, The First Piece

Mesa no own anything

Alright! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! –luffs everyone- Anyways enjoy, have a fun Halloween

Oh yeah, I set up a forum for you guys. I basically want a place where I can talk to you guys the readers more then just the review. I wanna heard your theories on what's gonna happen, what you think should happen. Though if I don't hear anything from you guys by end of Reimei, I'm gonna assume you're all happy with what I'm doing.

Anyways here's the link. Take out the spaces or just visit my profile. need add the semicolon and an extra slash too for the http part.

http / www. fanfiction. net /secure /forum /forums .php

It was set up a month ago but never got around to tell you guys. Anyways on with the story!

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_Last time:_

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Ed knew Fate was out to get him. He just knew it. There was no way his luck was this bad. Somehow while sliding down that pipe, he managed to take a wrong turn. He groaned as he rubbed his head.

His eyes widened as he looked around. The room he was in looked like a lab, and not just any lab, it was an alchemist lab. An array of alchemy circles, calculations and… blood was written all over the walls. Ed drew a sharp breath. There was one in particular that he noticed. It was the same circle he had seen in 5th Research Institute: the alchemy circle for the Philosopher's Stone.

What was that accursed thing doing here? Ed didn't have time to think about it as a low and dangerous growl came from behind him…

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**Chapter XIII  
Honor or Pride Part 1; The First Piece**

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READY STEADY GO

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Ed jumped away as a creature lunged at him out of nowhere. "What the--?" Ed shouted, dodging another attack.

The creature that attacked him looked like a chimera, but not any Ed had seen before. It was pretty obvious that whoever made it was using magical creatures instead. It had the head of an acromantula, the body of a centaur, and the wings of Fwooper. It was definitely not the wizarding world's standard chimera.

The chimera reared, its front legs kicking angrily. Ed wondered how long it had been down here. It charged at Ed, spitting out venom as it did so. Ed jumped away, clapping his hands together and giant hands shaped themselves out of the ground, trying to grab the Chimera. It flapped its wings and lifted itself off the ground before diving straight for Ed.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The Chimera fell to the ground, its body locked by the curse Ed had just cast. The blonde panted heavily, pushing his bangs out of his face. Now that that was taken care of, it was time to figure out what Amestris style alchemy was doing in a place hundreds of feet below Hogwarts.

Ed carefully examined the alchemy circle. "This is different," Ed muttered. The alchemy circle for the Philosopher's Stone was slightly different. As if someone had changed it. He traced the design slowly in thought. During the summer back home he had discovered a small fragment of the truth. The key ingredient to the Philosopher's Stone was humans. It still chilled him to the bone thinking about it. That trip to the Research Institute was a shocking experience. He still got nightmares from it and it made him sick to the stomach. Still, he had to keep looking for answers.

This circle was more powerful, but it looked like it didn't use humans to create the stone. Ed glanced at the bones that lay in heaps in the corners. They didn't look like human bones, and he bet they were actually bones from magical creatures. What kind of stone would be created from using the magical creatures? Ed could only begin to imagine what it could do. Magic and alchemy made a powerful and dangerous combination.

He could still feel the faint traces of alchemic reactions in the walls. It meant that this place was made recently; within the last year at most. He glanced at the ladder, from what he could see, it led up into a dark tunnel. Wondering where it ended, Ed began to climb. After a few minutes he pushed open a trapdoor and peered outside. There were tall, dark trees and the quiet groans of life. A thick fog made it hard to see past two feet. However, Ed knew it was somewhere deep into the Forbidden Forest. "Well, that explains how the person got into the Chamber in the first place."

As Ed climbed back down, he made a mental note of it. He wasn't sure how they were going to get out of the Chamber after this. Just as he reached the lab again, something slammed against him, knocking him across the room. Ed looked up quickly, the chimera had broken loose from his charm.

"Shit," Ed cursed, rolling away from another set of powerful kicks. The chimera was either going to poison him or trample him to death. Something Ed wasn't looking forward to. "Stupefy!" Ed shouted, throwing the chimera back a few paces. "Tarantallegra!" Ed continued.

The chimera's legs shook and began to dance wildly. –Crunch- Ed winced. It sounded like one of the chimera's leg broke. Still the beast wouldn't give up. It lunged itself at Ed one more time. "STUPEFY!!" Ed shouted.

The chimera was thrown into the wall, falling to the ground with sickening thud. Its neck was broken. It lay still, unmoving. Ed panted, trying to catch his breath. He was getting real sick of this.

Suddenly, the sound of music echoed throughout the room. Ed listened. It was eerie, spine-tingling, and unearthly: it made Ed's skin crawl. He knew what that sound was. It was the sound of a phoenix. "Harry! Ron!" Ed shouted to himself. He had to find them!

---------------

Harry was just peachy. No, really, he was swell. Everything was okay in life. Well… no not really. In the duration of the last ten minutes he had learned that the spirit of a diary had been controlling his best friend's sister. A spirit that happened to be the younger version of Voldmort, the heir of Slytherin. It was also safe to say that Tom Riddle was about to kill him until Fawkes appeared out of nowhere, dropping the Sorting Hat onto Harry's lap.

Harry questioned his destiny and sanity for a brief moment. Riddle had a twisted smile on his face as he laughed at what Dumbledore had sent to help Harry. Part of Harry couldn't blame him. What good was a ratty old hat and phoenix going to do against a spirit and a giant snake? Riddle turned towards the stone face of Slytherin, high above, hiding in the darkness. Riddle opened his mouth and hissed, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four."

The statue's mouth opened. Harry watched in horror. He saw something slither in the darkness. He backed away until he hit a wall. What was he going to do now? He felt Fawkes' wings brush against his cheek as the phoenix took flight. Harry was filled with despair as he heard something big fall onto the Chamber's floor. "Kill him." Riddle's voice echoed throughout the Chamber.

Fear getting the better of him, Harry stood up and ran blindly. He tripped over his own feet, falling to the ground with a thud. Harry braced himself, waiting for the deadly fangs of the Basilisk to kill him. It never came. Instead, Harry opened his eyes, attempting to see what was going on without looking directly into the snake's eyes.

He saw Fawkes soar through the sky, singing the same eerie song. Harry concentrated on the shadows of Fawkes and the Basilisk, knowing it was safe to look at now. He saw Fawkes dive, attacking the snake's eyes. The Basilisk's deadly glaze was no more.

"NO!" Riddle screamed. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM! KILL HIM!"

Harry ran, clutching the Sorting Hat. Someone, anyone, he needed help. He felt something heavy fall into the hat. Harry pulled the object out. It was a sword, its handle gleaming with egg sized rubies. Harry didn't have time to stare at it as the Basilisk lunged at him blindly.

Rolling away, Harry braced himself for the next attack. This would be his last stand. Do or die! Kill the snake or die. Harry clenched the sword tightly. He would not die here. The Basilisk lunged once more. Harry thrust sword forward into the roof of the serpent's mouth. He had done it. Warm blood spilled on him as the Basilisk fell.

His victory was short lived as he felt a wave of pain from his arm. Harry looked to see one of the snake's fangs sinking deep into his arm. Pulling the fang out of his arm, Harry staggered. His vision was getting foggy, the Chamber spinning.

"HARRY!"

Harry dimly registered Ed's voice calling out to him. He thought happily that at least his friend was alright and would be able to save Ginny. Harry felt his knees give out and felt someone, probably Ed, catch him.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter," Riddle taunted. "Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, your friend arriving too late, and finally defeated by the Dark Lord."

------

Ed ran as fast as he could. But in the end, it still wasn't fast enough. He reached the main chamber just in time to see Harry kill the Basilisk and the snake's deadly fang sinking into Harry's arm. "HARRY!" he shouted.

He ran towards his friend, catching the dark haired boy just as he fell. Ed racked his brain, desperately searching for a way to help Harry. He glanced towards the other boy as he taunted Harry. Ed recognized him from the old Head Boy photos. It was Tom Riddle, but Ed didn't understand why he was, or how he was here.

Lying abandoned on the floor, behind Riddle, was the diary. Ed wondered, was it possible that somehow Riddle had come to life? It defied everything in his scientific beliefs… but magic was a different story. Even further behind the spirit, Ginny Weasley was lying on the stone floor. Ed briefly wondered where Ron and Lockhart were. He watched as Fawkes joined him and as the phoenix laid his head against Harry's wound.

Ed's eyes widened. "Of course, phoenix tears," Ed whispered. Riddle heard him, pointing his wand at Fawkes and firing a spell at the bird. The phoenix took flight again, dodging the spell.

"Healing powers," Riddle muttered. He then pointed the wand at Harry. "No matter. I'll just kill you mys—" Ed didn't let him finish. He punched Riddle in the stomach, sending the now solid spirit flying a few feet away. Ed dived, grabbing the diary. He knew that somehow the reason why Riddle was alive was because of this thing.

"Harry, catch!" Ed shouted, throwing the diary. Harry, who had readjusted himself, caught the book and without a moment of hesitation stabbed the Basilisk's fang into the diary. A loud scream erupted from the book. Ink spurted from it, as Riddle twisted in pain. The spirit twisted and flailed before shattering into pieces and vanishing.

Ed picked up Harry's wand that Riddle had dropped and handed it to him. "Alright," Ed finally said. "Mind explaining to me what exactly happened?"

Harry gave him a weak laugh. "Sure… let's get Ginny first and I'll explain it to you on the way back to the tunnel."

-------

Ed stared at the giant pile of rubble that blocked them from Ron and Lockhart. He shook his head, still not believing that the idiot Lockhart lost his memory and caused this. "Ron! Ginny's okay!" Harry shouted.

Ron gave a cheer on the other side. "Don't touch anything!" Ed yelled. "I'm making a doorway! Stand Back!"

Ron's voice shouted back. "How are you gonna do—" He was cut off by a blue light and instantly a door materialized. Ed pushed open the door and escorted Ginny and Harry through. "Blimey," said Ron. "That's a neat trick, Ed."

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's alchemy."

Ron didn't pay attention. He grabbed his sister and hugged her. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? And how – what- where did that bird come from?"

Fawkes flew through the open doorway. "He's Dumbledore's," said Ed.

"And where did you get that sword, Harry?"

"I'll explain it to you later," said Harry. He had just finished explaining to Ed and knew he would have to tell the professors and Dumbledore. Harry didn't feel like telling the story over and over again, and especially not in front of Ginny. Ed solved most of it after Harry told him the beginning. Ron wasn't that bright, and might end up making Ginny more uncomfortable.

They soon found Lockhart near the beginning of the pipe. The poor guy was sitting, looking rather lost, not sure who he was or where he was. He still seemed a bit on the cheery side. Ed wondered if he should mention the other entrance but decided against it. He didn't want to have to trek the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Of course the question now was how to get back up?

Fawkes landed in front of Harry, waving his long golden tail feathers. "Ah, I see," said Ed. "He wants you to grab hold, Harry."

Harry looked at Ed, uncertain. "But I'm too heavy!"

Ed smiled. "Phoenixes can carry heavy bundles. I'm sure Fawkes is strong enough to carry all of us." Harry grabbed hold of Fawkes' tail feathers. Ron grabbed the back of Harry's robes and held Ginny's hand with his other hand. Ginny held Ed's and Ed grabbed Lockhart. As much as he wanted to, Ed knew it wouldn't be right to leave him here. Seconds later, all of them were being pulled up through the pipe.

Before Ed knew it, he fell onto the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He groaned and got up slowly. "You're alive," Myrtle told Harry.

"No need to sound so disappointed," Harry muttered.

"Where now?" Ron asked, holding onto Ginny. She looked like she was ready to collapse.

Fawkes flew out the door. "We follow Fawkes," said Ed. Moments later, they were outside Professor McGonagall's office.

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_"I consider your class of demon very worthy: worthy to fight, and worthy to die"  
- Youko Kurama (Yu Yu Hakusho)_

_------------------------------_

So… hope you enjoyed. Happy Halloween!

Don't forget to check out the forums! Check it for next updates for Reimei. One more chapter to go!

http / www. fanfiction. net /secure /forum /forums. Php

and of course, give me a trick or treat gift by **REVIEWING PLEASE!**


	14. Honor or Pride Part 2, And so it begins…

Mesa no own anything

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! -tosses out gifts to everyone - I'll keep it short as possible. (For a quick note, I hated writing the Dobby scene.) But yesh. Enjoy! Congrats to Hiyami for the 300th Review!!

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_Reimei: Honor and Pride_

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**300th Review Special! **

**Chapter XIV****  
Honor or Pride Part 2: And so it begins…**

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PLEASE. TRUST ME. 

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Ed woke up to the white walls of the infirmary. He sat up in his bed, the events that happened a few hours ago flooding his mind. While he was happy that the whole Chamber of Secrets issue had been resolved, it still bothered him that he had found alchemy experiments down there. Ed looked to his right. Harry was still asleep. Killing a Basilisk, saving Ginny, defeating an evil spirit, and nearly dying in the whole process, it was no wonder he was exhausted.

Looking to his left, Ed saw the still bodies of those who were Petrified. Ed stared at Roy's still body. This time despair didn't fill him, but rather joy. Madam Pomfrey had informed him that the mandrake potions would be brewed by that evening, which meant everyone, including Hermione and Roy, would be back on their feet by tonight.

"Edward."

Ed looked up, startled to see Dumbledore standing in front of his bed. When did the old man come in? "You said yesterday," Dumbledore started, "that you ended up in another place of the Chamber. What was there?"

Pondering on it for a few moments, Ed decided not to tell Dumbledore exactly what he had found. While he trusted the older wizard, there was no need to tell him of what exactly was going on back home. What he found down there was somehow related to the chaos back home, Ed knew. He opened his mouth to tell Dumbledore there was nothing there, when Lucius Malfoy suddenly walked into the infirmary.

Behind him, Dobby came scurrying in, wrapped in bandages. Ed's eyes widened. So Dobby was the Malfoy's house elf! Ed's heart went out to him. It must be a nightmare living with the Malfoys.

"So," Lucius sneered at Dumbledore. "Have you stopped the attacks yet? Have you caught the culprit?"

Dumbledore's eyes just twinkled at him. "We have. It was the same person as last time, Lucius. But this time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary." He held up the small black book with a large hole.

Ed watched Dobby. The elf was making strange signals and then hitting himself as punishment. Dobby pointed to the diary and then Lucius. The light bulb went on. Harry had told him about the encounter between Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy.

"Ah. I just remembered something," Ed spoke up, interrupting the staring match between Lucius and Dumbledore. "You ran into the Weasley family in Diagon Alley and you picked up Ginny's old Transfiguration book. I think it would have been quite easy to slip the diary inside, don't you think?"

Lucius' grip tightened on his cane. "Prove it," he hissed.

"Oh, no one will be able to do that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Ed. "Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, on not giving out anymore of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think some people, Arthur Weasley for one, will make sure they are traced back to you…"

Lucius stared long and hard at Dumbledore and Ed, not saying anything. Finally, he turned and left. "We're going, Dobby!" Lucius tore open the door, and stormed out.

Ed stared as Dobby stumbled out of the infirmary. It was then that an idea hit him. With a sly grin he asked, "Professor, can I return the diary to Mr. Malfoy?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course. Don't forget the feast is about to start. I'll wake Harry up in the mean time."

Ed clapped his hands and touched his bed sheets. As the blue light faded, a shirt fell into Ed's hands. He tied the bottom of the shirt into a knot, dropped the diary in through the neck and ran out the door.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Ed shouted, catching up to the blond man and Dobby. "You forgot something!" He shoved the shirt and the diary into Lucius' hands.

Lucius snatched the diary out of the shirt and tossed the shirt on the side. "I shall remember this, Mr. Elric," he sneered. "You'll meet the same fate as Harry Potter's parents if you continue this. Meddlesome fools they were."

He turned to leave. "Come, Dobby."

The elf didn't move. "I said, come," Lucius repeated.

Dobby held up the shirt that Ed made. "Master has given a shirt. Master gave it to Dobby," the elf said, his voice trembling with amazement. "Got shirt… Master threw it, and Dobby caught it… Dobby is free!"

Lucius snarled, whipping out his wand from his cane and pointing it at Ed. "You lost me my servant!"

Dobby stood in between Ed and Lucius. "You will not hurt friend of Harry Potter!"

-Bang-

Lucius flew backwards, hitting the wall. He stood up, shakily. Pointing his wand at Dobby, he snarled, "You!"

"You shall go now," Dobby spoke, pointing his finger at Lucius. "You shall not touch Harry Potter or Harry Potter's friends! You shall go now!"

Lucius snarled one more time before sweeping his cloak behind him and leaving. As soon as he was out of sight, Dobby hugged Ed. "Mr. Elric has freed Dobby! Mr. Elric has set Dobby free!!" Dobby shouted happily.

Ed chuckled. "Just call me Ed. And it was the least I could do. Just promise not to try and save Harry's life again, okay?"

Dobby smiled and hugged Ed again. "Thank you so much Mr. Elric! Harry Potter and his friends are far greater than Dobby has imagined! Farewell!" There was crack and Dobby was gone.

Ed smiled. Just then Harry came running around the corner and grabbed Ed's arm. "Come on, Ed! The feast is about to start!!"

"Harry, wait!" Ed dragged his feet, slowing down the boy. Harry turned to look at him. "The petrified people? They awake?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah! Madam Pomfrey is giving them the mandrake potion right now!"

Ed ran back in the direction of the infirmary. "Go ahead!" he shouted back to Harry. "I'll meet you down there."

Harry smiled, knowing the reason. "Okay!"

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Just a few feet from the infirmary, Hermione tackled Ed. "Hermione! You're alright!" Ed exclaimed. Hermione grinned.

"You guys solved it! I heard everything from Dumbledore!" she shrieked happily.

Ed grinned back. "Yeah, we did. Harry did most of the work though. Speaking of which, Harry already headed down to the feast. You should go too."

Hermione nodded. "You coming?"

Ed shook his head. "Not now. I wanted to see Roy first."

-----------

Harry turned the corner and ran into the one person he didn't want to see: Draco. Both boys groaned before realizing whom they just ran into.

Draco stared at him. "You're alive," he said slowly.

Harry frowned, insulted. "Hoping I was gonna die down there?" he said with a clenched fist.

Draco's cheeks turned a bright red. "No! I mean argh! You're impossible, Potter! Forget it!" He stormed off into the Great Hall, hurt that Harry didn't believe he was actually concerned.

Harry watched Draco's back as he walked away. He blinked rapidly, confused at Draco's words. He really didn't understand him.

----------

Roy stretched his stiff limbs. Being petrified was not the best thing in the world. He picked up his state alchemist watch and placed it back in his pocket. Then he grabbed his cloak and threw it on. Dumbledore had informed all those who had been petrified of what had happened a few hours ago.

Roy smiled to himself. So Ed, Harry and Ron had figured out the final piece. He came across the Basilisk's entry just a few hours before he was attacked. Roy thanked his luck that he had only been petrified and not killed.

He was adjusting his tie when he felt someone's arms wrap around his waist. Roy looked over his shoulder. "Edward?" he said quietly.

Ed had come into the infirmary quietly and gave him a quick hug. "You idiot," Ed muttered, not looking Roy in the eye. "Don't you ever do something like that again!" He whacked Roy on his head for good measure.

Roy smiled and patted Ed on the head. "I won't," he chuckled. "Come on. Let's get to the feast."

-----------

The feast had been terrific. Students in their pajamas gathered around Harry, Ron and Ed, asking every question possible about what had happened. The party lasted all through the remainder of the night. Hagrid showed up halfway past three, sweeping the three boys into a hug. Professor McGonagall announced that Gryffindor had secured the House Cup for another year and all final exams had been canceled in celebration.

Roy joined the rest of the teachers who cheered when Dumbledore announced that Lockhart would not be able to return to his teaching post and would be sent to the hospital to recover his lost memory.

"Finally!" said Ed. "I was getting annoyed with that fraud."

Ron laughed. "You know, he was actually starting to grow on me."

--------------

The reminder of the days had flown by all too fast. Before Ed knew it, it was time to leave once more. He noticed that Draco was acting reclusive, avoiding Harry especially. Ed brushed it off, assuming it had to do with the fact that his dad had been sacked as school governor. Ginny had recovered nicely and was happily chatting with her friends.

Soon they had climbed into the Hogwarts Express and were heading back to King's Cross.

"So Ed, you're gonna come back next year? It'll be a shame if you don't, seeing as you've spent two years learning magic and should finish," said Harry.

Ed shrugged, glancing at Roy who had fallen asleep. "I dunno. I got a lot of things to do back home."

"What kind of things? I mean, I know you'll probably be busy, but seriously what could keep you from coming back every year to Hogwarts?" asked Ron. Ed never talked about his hometown, much less about himself. All they knew was that Ed practiced alchemy (which was like his hometown's form of magic,) and that Mr. Mustang was from there too.

Ed shifted in his seat nervously. There was really no need to tell Harry, Ron and Hermione about the truth he was after or the fact that he was in the military. "Well, I work," Ed explained. "It's just me and my brother because my parents are dead, so I have to work to support us. And, well, I can't keep going to Hogwarts if I don't have the funds to support myself." It was a partial lie. It was true that he worked, but he had the funds to support himself. Between his excess research funds and salary from the military, Ed actually had enough to buy himself a mansion and retire for life.

"Oh."

"So Mr. Mustang isn't your guardian?" Hermione asked.

Ed shook his head, amused at what Hermione was suggesting. "No. He's not. He just works in the same place that I do."

"As a librarian?"

Ed laughed at that one. "No. Believe it or not, this guy is not a real librarian," Ed said pointing to Roy.

"Then what on earth do you guys do?" asked Harry.

Ed chuckled again. "Well that, I'm afraid, is a secret."

"What?! Don't you trust us?" Ron probed.

"Of course I do. But that doesn't mean I have to tell you," Ed said secretively. There was no need to expose his friends to the world that he lived in. The train drew to a stop. "We're here," said Ed, changing the subject. "Hey, Roy! Wake up."

Roy stirred. "We're here already?" he asked sleepily. He was hoping his nap would last for a little bit longer.

Harry was scribbling something on a piece of paper. He handed one to Ed, Ron and Hermione. "This is my telephone number. I showed your dad how to use the phone over the summer," Harry told Ron. "And Ed, I'm not sure if you even have phones in your country."

Laughing, Ed took the number. "We do, but I don't think I'll be able to call you anyways. I don't think I can call that far away. We're kinda behind on the whole advancing of technology. You're better off trying to contact me by owl."

"Still, try. I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to," Harry complained.

They all exited the train. "You could probably send it to Mr. Mustang here and he'll pass the message on to me," Ed said.

Roy grumbled. "I'm not your messenger."

"But you're the fastest way to get messages to me," Ed grinned.

"Why is that?" asked Harry. If they both worked at the same place then why would it be faster to send messages to Mr. Mustang?"

"That's a secret," Ed said.

"He travels a lot for our work," Roy explained. Ed elbowed him in the stomach for ruining that secret.

"Ah, I see," said Harry. "Well, keep in touch you two!" Harry waved bye to them as he, Ron, and Hermione walked through the gateway first.

Roy looked at Ed. "Ready to go home?" he asked.

Ed grinned. "Yup. I missed Al and everyone else."

They both turned to head towards the 9 ¾ portal way when a voice stopped them. "I'm afraid you two aren't going anywhere."

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"When one door closes another door opens; but we often looked so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."

- Alexander Graham Bell

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_Owari_

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-ducks- I know I know. You're gonna kill me for the cliffhanger. Anyways, this concludes the end of Reimei! Be on the lookout for Asa!!

-smiles- MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And **PLEASE REVIEW!!! **


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